Little Witch Academia - The Wizard in Time
by WaywardBot
Summary: Wizards? Yes, they do exist. I'm bad at making summaries. Just read.
1. Arrival

**Author's Greetings: Welcome to my first Fanfic ever. So what's going on? The chapter have between your fingers right now till the 10** **th** **chapter is a product of a massive rework—the quality wasn't like this the first time I wrote this chapter. Enjoy it, I bled for this reworks.**

 **Disclaimer: Little Witch Academia is owned by Hirohiko Araki and is part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Franchise (the unreleased 9** **th** **part). All characters used (aside from the OC) in this story are not owned by anyone since they're living sentient beings and any violation of basic human rights will not be tolerated in this fanfic. Wait, but doesn't that mean that my OC isn't a sentient being and can be owned? What are you talking about? You said '(aside from the OC)'. I did.**

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In the early hours of the morning, Luna Nova is already up and busy.

It's unlike any other mornings in Luna Nova, there's a special atmosphere going around the academy. The fairies are already up and about far before sunrise, and the headmistress herself is awake, making sure all is well and prepared before the big event. Luna Nova's opening ceremony will be held today, this morning, and along with it, new students will arrive.

The school had been busy lately with preparations, and it'd been tiring for the fairies and teachers alike, hence why there're little signs of teachers walking around at this hour. The headmistress had asked, even forced the teachers, to take good rest before the big day.

Which is why the Headmistress is alone right now, accepting a meeting that's otherwise important this early in the morning.

"Decline again this year", the short headmistress says as she looks out the window. Outside, the cold and dark still dominates the early morning landscape.

Something more intriguing than the annual decline of applicant witches stops the headmistress's train of thought. She looks up to the woman beside her and says, "Still, it's quite odd of the ministry to install one of their Guardians here".

Although she is, there's no indication that this woman is a teacher of this school. For one, she's quite young, around her mid 20's, not the most popular age for being a teacher in Luna Nova, and another, she doesn't wear the teacher's uniform. The women did just arrive in the school yesterday, and is yet to receive one.

The woman is Michelle Oliver. She works for the Ministry of Magic in their Guardian division, and now doubles as a teacher here in this academy. You could call her a cop of the magical world, that's what she tells people whenever she doesn't feel like explaining the long history and meaning of the Guardians. If she's feeling charitable, she'd tell them that the Guardians are a long established division that has the main purpose of overseeing and investigating magical practices across the ministry's domain of authority. But of course, that's still saying too little to do the reclusive group justice.

"Ministry's orders", Michelle says. "Schools need overseeing. They've been interested with the developments of young wizard and witches, lately".

"They are interesting to observe, of course, but for the ministry to be so interested? There has to be something else they have in mind".

Michelle answers the headmistress's inquisitive remark with a shrug, and Holbrooke is reminded once again that, despite the closeness they share, Michelle, being a member of the ministry's Guardians, has her own professional secrets to keep.

Nonetheless, Michelle felt the urge to make an answer. "Maybe they've listened to all my vacation pleas and gave me this instead?"

Miss Holbrooke chuckles. Yet however humorous Michelle's answer is it's a way for her to tell Holbrooke that she won't get anywhere asking these sorts of questions. Believing it's time to change the subject, the headmistress asks, "So how about your apprentice, I expected him to come with you yesterday".

Michelle's eyes drift away for a moment, she seems uneasy. Her answer comes with a delay, "He… had to stay behind yesterday, got something he needed to do back home".

"Nothing troublesome, I hope?"

"It…. is, sadly", Michelle says. She rubs the back of her head and turns her away. "It's pretty personal, so if you could, don't ask him about it, okay?"

Holbrooke shares a sympathetic smile and nods. "I'll keep that in mind"

Michelle looks outside the window and down to the open courtyards of Luna Nova. It's very quiet, not a soul, be it man or fairy stir down there with all the available manpower directed in preparation for the ceremony in the main hall.

Michelle is reminded of the time she spent staying away from that courtyard when she was little. The reason for this is the three statues situated there. Michelle remembered perfectly the first time she saw her mother enchant a statue and made it move. Michelle was very young back then, and it was an eerie experience for her. She could remember how the lifeless became living, how the statue's sightless eyes gained sight, and how it's cold hard limbs gained the ability to move, its uncanny movements haunts her sleep the most that night. It wasn't her mother to blame; she did a good enchantment and the statue wasn't a horrible monstrosity. It was a beautiful sculpture just similar to the one found here in the courtyard, but young Michelle was terrified by it nonetheless—she was petrified by the un-petrified. Ever since then, young Michelle always feared the sight of lifelike statues, fearing that it'll just open their eyes and pull Michelle away with their stone cold hands.

Michelle remembers those simple times with those simple fears, and now realizes how much things change. Not just here, but everywhere and everything.

"Still can't believe you're letting him in", Michelle remarks, her eyes still planted on the courtyard, breaking her lengthy silence.

"Not just him". Miss Holbrooke reminds the new teacher, "It's inevitable. I fear the days of an all-girls or all-boys wizarding schools are numbered, seeing how, overall, our numbers _are_ declining".

"I agree", Michelle says as she rests lazily on the windowsill and keeps staring outside. The wind picks up, and the trees in the forest beyond Luna Nova sway along with it. She imagines it must be cold outside.

"Everything's getting better except for magic—what a crazy world", Michelle remarks.

—

It's a fine looking town all things considered, though the welcoming early morning sun and fresh air sorts of contradict my own feelings. In any normal circumstances, I'd enjoy this scenery and atmosphere, a fitting one for someone literally having a fresh start.

However, all things considered, this is a sad day for me.

It is sad that my cat, Frank Francis the second, is unable to see my departure to Luna Nova. It was even sadder that he won't be able to see anything anymore.

He died, only two nights ago.

It was messy business, burying his body the night before I left for this town. At that time, I risked being late for the academy's opening ceremony by not going with Michelle and stayed home instead. It was a sense of responsibility and love, I suppose, that overpowered any sense of punctuality.

Of course I was stricken with grief. Our butler, the usually apathetic Mr Bernard himself, even sympathized and helped with the messy business. He even stayed after we're finished and offered a few words and some of condolences for me and, however disturbing his choice of words were, I know he meant well when he said 'getting ran over by a car is the worst way to go for a cat, must've broken lots of bones and died a painful one. I pray for him'.

Remembering his words send chills down my spine—I'm sure it's not because of the cold wind.

I breathe out a deep sigh to calm myself. It's good for me to have a new companion, at least.

I glance at the clear water bottle strapped beside my backpack. Within it is a good amount of water and swimming in it is a goldfish with bright, healthy scales that returns my gaze.

"Sorry for the abrupt name change, Francis", I say to the fish, to which I get a bubbling response.

Frank Francis the Third wasn't called Frank Francis the Third a mere day ago, it's just a title for the animal companion I see most fit to be my closest. So with the untimely death of my cat, Frank Francis the Second, I see fit that this goldfish should be the next to bear the torch, however difficult holding one with a fin would be. He was pals with Second, after all, always played around a game of cat and mouse together.

I shake my head and push away my melancholic thoughts. Now's not the time for that. I have better feelings to put in my heart instead of grief, and that's nervousness. Enrolling in a new school is already bad enough, with my rubbish-tier confidence in adapting to new friends and environment, but an all-girls school? A wholly different and worse situation altogether.

Of course, most boys would dream to be in my shoes right now, with all the prospects of being one of the little male students in a school filled with young, beautiful, rich, and talented girls. But being the pessimistic biscuit that I am, I subconsciously focus more on the troubles that entails, prime among them being the possibility for me to be the easiest alienable person in the school.

That is, if I do get enrolled in the school in the first place. I heard the academy's opening ceremony demands strict punctuality, not my strongest suit, to be honest.

The reason I'm here this early is exactly that and because of what Michelle asked me to do. She said that to access the Ley Line terminal, I'd need to use a broom—I can't ride a broom yet, hence why I'm here this early. The day I showed Michelle my resolve to stay and bury Second instead of going with her, she specifically told me to wait by the terminal, put my best face on, and try to hitch a ride in order to not be late.

I might be here a little too early, however. The hill where the Ley Line terminal sits is still quiet this time of the morning. Fresh dew still lingers on the grass. The sun is yet to fully show itself and so the air is a comfortable cold. The town's distance from any big cities and the plentiful forest surrounding it makes the air clean and clear. The place sounds lively as well, with the songs of the morning birds and the rustling of leaves filling my ears and reminding me that, no matter how quiet right now is, I'm not alone.

I look back to the quiet town below the hill and try to take the view in. Blytonbury is truly a beautiful and quiet place, with its old architecture and quiet life visible even from here. It feels like a picnic. I couldn't spend time there at all after I dropped off the train, so I hope that sometime in the near future I could see what's down there.

The sound of footsteps takes me away from my thoughts and I turn to see a girl walking up the hill. I didn't expect much, so I was surprised to find someone here this early, and more so that she wears a uniform of some sort.

The uniform is recognizable at first glance. It's what the students of Luna Nova wear. The only other feature her uniform has that's different from the others is the blue sash and ribbons it sports, they complement the girl's beautiful blonde hair and sharp blue eyes well.

The girl too, notices me. "Morning", she says politely as she walks past me.

"G-good", I abruptly greet back.

There're no further words spoken after that simple pleasantry. She goes on with her business, entering the terminal, while I stand still outside with a somewhat awkward silence with me. I realize this is what I've been waiting for, but the thing is, I hadn't thought of how I'm supposed to ask for a hitchhike.

I clear my throat and catch the girl's attention again.

"Are you going into the Ley Line?" I ask. It's not lost to me how stupid that question is, considering she's already inside there and already has her broom on her hand.

"I–I mean, Luna Nova", I correct myself nervously. "Are you going to Luna Nova?"

"Yes, I am", the girl nods. "I'm a student there".

I do the hitchhike gesture with my thumb, only modifying its direction into 'up' after a second though. "I'm sorry if this sounds sudden, but do you mind if I ask a ride there?"

"What business do you have there?" the girl directly asks.

"I sort of need to go there…" I fidget on my spot and look away as I deliver my next words, in quiet this time. "…graduation ceremony".

The girl's sharp eyes widen slightly. She asks, "Ah, so you're a new student?"

"Y-yes, yes I am", I nod, a bit too much. "I heard that even the male students—"

"Ah, you're among the first batch of male students?"

I pause and blink a few times at her apparent surprise at this. I duly answer, "Yes, I suppose".

"You should've said so from the beginning", the girl says, offering a light, polite smile. She moves forward on her broom and beckons me. "I'll take you there. But do mind, it'll take a bit slow with the added weight".

The girl moves her broom in the Ley Line with fine familiarity. The smooth and effortless piloting despite the added weight tells me that, aside from her familiarity with this Ley Line, she must be a good rider.

"Ah, where are my manners", the girl speak, ridding the silence we had since the broom ride had started. "My name's Diana, Diana Cavendish".

"Diana", I remark. Feeling how familiar that name sounds and how nice such foreign the name rolls on my tongue. "I guess I haven't properly thanked you, Diana. So thank you, for not making me late to the graduation ceremony".

It's also not lost to me how easily she offers me the ride without questioning why I couldn't just ride a broom there myself at all. I suppose she just understands there are people with such circumstances, and knows that further questioning would've put me in an uncomfortable position. This already shows how tact a person Diana Cavendish is.

"The pleasure is mine", Diana replies without looking back. "What's your name?"

"Jericho", I answer. "Jericho Franklin Jr., that's what they gave me".

"You won't be disappointed with the academy, Franklin", Diana begins again. "Luna Nova has many great teachers that produce great graduates, we're proud of our respectful history in education and learning…"

As she goes on with her explanations, it becomes apparent how proud Diana is of her academy. She speaks of it with high regard and seems very knowledgeable about all things surrounding it too. She knows information you'd expect to find in travelling brochures tucked away on those little drawers in hotel rooms. The lengthy and should be boring lecture she's giving me doesn't feel so when she's expressing it with such pride and passion.

The ride there isn't a long way, but it isn't a short one either, so there's plenty of time for us to converse, though it's mostly one sided. I stay in the back with occasional short 'yes' and 'no' and other slight variations of it when the inevitable questions arise from Diana.

When we exit the Ley Line however, Diana says nothing and lets me take in the view quietly.

To say that the building is beautiful would be an understatement—it's a work of art. Its Victorian era architecture shows its age, but its magnificently well-kept white walls indicate its modernity. Two towers stand at the distance, one of them much taller than the school's main building itself, and atop of it, a green light is emitted by the sorcerer's stone it houses.

"Welcome to Luna Nova", Diana remarks, her proud smile lost to me as I'm captivated by the scenery.

She steers the broom downwards and brings us to the ground and I take a moment to breathe in the fresh air once we dismounted. The place is far from any town and is surrounded by a vast green forest, one that reminds me of the one surrounding Michelle's home and my old place of study back in Yen's Forest. The air here feels incredibly fresh and natural, even more so than that hill the terminal sat.

"Do you know where you need to go now?" Diana asks as she walks up beside me.

"I know where to go but not where it is. I'm supposed to go to the Headmistress's office first before any place else".

"I'll take you there. It's in the same direction as the ceremony room, after all".

The interior of the school is as magnificent as its exterior. I spent most of our walk there looking up and just taking in the place's vast beauty that I begin to hurt my neck.

We pass through the main hall. Its doors are left ajar and inside I could see worker fairies doing their business. There are hundreds of chairs prepared in there, reminding me of how vast the number of students this school has. One budding question makes me ask, "I wonder how many male students are going to be here…"

"Not that many", Diana replies. "There're only around 3 to 9 open seats for the new male students. The school had to limit them to ease administration and handling, no doubt they'll increase it after initial success".

"Administration", I hum. "Makes sense, and that's great. I can't imagine if I'm the only male student in the entire school".

It's not long until we reach the Headmistress's office. I'm quite puzzled as to what would be appropriate to say to the headmistress, so I'm grateful that Diana takes the initiative and knocks on the door and enters first. She says, "Miss Holbrooke, a student is here to see you".

Diana comes in and I follow, once I'm in, I'm immediately greeted with the old headmistress's familiar warm smile.

"Ah, Mr. Franklin, you're finally here". Miss Holbrooke greets me. She turns to Diana and says, "Thank you, Diana, for showing him the way here".

"It's no trouble. We're going to the same direction, after all".

Diana glances at a clock, a wooden pendulum one situated at the edge of the room, and says, "I'm sorry to be abrupt, but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere, so if I'm no longer needed here, I shall take my leave".

"I'll see you at the ceremony", Miss Holbrooke says with a nod.

Diana nods and takes her leave. She turns to me as she passes by and says, "See you there too. And remember: failure to arrive on time would result in immediate expulsion".

"R-right, you too".

That wasn't the most reassuring goodbye I've heard, but it's a goodbye.

Seeing that the ceremony is still a few hours away, Miss Holbrooke decided its best for me to get familiar with the place as early as possible. So the rest of the morning we spent touring around the school, accompanied with her lengthy lectures along the way to socialize me with the rules and customs here.

"Michelle couldn't receive you right now, sadly. She's busy preparing for her first appearance in the opening ceremony", Miss Holbrooke says at one point of the tour.

It's an overwhelming building, and I often find difficulty in figuring out where I am even after asking for the third time. Even more overwhelming is the strict discipline and rules this school has. I have to work hard to keep up with them.

Our last part of the tour is into the room where I'll be staying. It's a big room, bigger than I first anticipated. It surprisingly has stairs that lead to a small and partially dusty second floor, its floor only covering half the room which makes the second floor from the bottom. A safety net hangs from one edge of the second floor's end to another. Something tells me this isn't supposed to be a dormitory room, judging from the odd design, and the Headmistress soon confirms this.

"This used to be a storage room", Miss Holbrooke explains as she looks up to the ceiling. "We've already made two new ones on the third floor so this one is no longer used. Only recently we renovated this".

"No complains here", I reply, contend with the superior size of the room. I happily note that my belongings had been placed here by the goblins. They've offered to do so the moment Diana and I stepped into the school earlier. There's even a fishbowl prepared on a desk.

Miss Holbrooke notices this and says, "Michelle told me of your companion. Luckily, professor Pisces has some spare fishbowls to share".

"Wonderful! And I'm to share this with my soon to be decided roommates, right?"

Miss Holbrooke, to my surprise, sombrely nods. "If they do arrive, that is".

I notice the sombre tone in her voice and the way she casts her eyes downwards. At this, I raise a brow and carefully ask, "They _are_ coming, right?"

"We all hope so. I mean, the school had only just opened up for male students for the first time since the school's establishment. But the fact is it takes time for students to be interested in joining what formerly was an all-girls school, not to mention one that is in decline. Instead, most are more interested in spending their money on already trusted and well-established wizarding schools. They're a better investment, to say simply".

"You're saying… you're not sure there'll be more male students besides me?"

"No one is, not until they show up here for the ceremony! Of course we've already received application letters and accepted them, but what ultimately decides whether they'll be here or not is the students themselves. Maybe some of them already got accepted but had a last minute change of idea and decided not to come in the ceremony, immediately forfeiting. It has happened with girl students in the past, it's not irregular".

I mean, you could use divination magic to find out, but okay.

With this new information added to my pile of pressures, I breathe out a silent sigh and look somewhere else. "I hope they come", I say, dread silently hinted in my words. "I really hope they come".

"I really do hope so too, else you'd be alone here and, most importantly, team-less. That'd not just be trouble for you, but it'll be an administrative problem too".

"Yes, yes", I reply, nodding. " _Administrative problems_ ".

"Administrative problems", Miss Holbrooke reaffirms with a nod. "Now, you'll find your uniform inside the drawer in your room. Change to it and once you're done, I'll take you to the ceremony room. We wouldn't want you to be late, Mr Franklin".

I was on my way to the drawer but stop halfway and ask. "But how about the ribbons, I thought I'm supposed to choose it or something?"

"You'll get to decide it later", Miss Holbrooke cries from across the room, already halfway out the door. "Now get going! You don't want to be late for the ceremony!"

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 **Author's Exit: don't forget to review! Good or bad reviews, especially bad reviews, are extremely appreciated—they're the ones that tell the writer what's not good enough. Cheers!**


	2. Pappiliodya

I've first attended Professor Ursula's magic astronomy class today, and there I saw such amazing magic being performed. The professor, young as she is, is surprisingly brilliant when it comes to astronomy based divination magic. She reminds me of Michelle in that way.

"That's the north star, Polaris, that'll be the one you always follow", the professor says. With a flick of her wand, the glimmering stars all move from their places, all except for one. "Make it your guide in divination, a stepping stone for your every move", she adds.

The students stare at the stars surrounding them, awed and amazed by the beautiful magic being performed. A star floats next to me, captivating to the touch and brilliant to behold. I try to reach for it, but as soon as I make contact, the star twirls and whirls around me, before leaving to join the other stars in the constellation.

Another class that has amazed me was the basic white magic class. White magic has never been something that's within grasp. It's more of an advanced form of magic that requires better attunement to magic.

Something that caught my eye in that class was a girl who used spirits to mend objects, it's something I've read but never seen been done.

The last class that left a good impression on me was magic history class. There're so many things so interesting with the history of magic, I've always found fascination within them. The proud, honourable, and enduring history of witches, from tall tales of old to accepted historical records, they've always fascinated me.

In all those class sessions, there're numerous moments I could've and would've answered the teachers' questions but never did so, all because one girl in particular keeps answering them before I could even think. Diana is terribly gifted, it's something I brought up almost every time one of the students chooses to talk to me, and every one of them has given me the same answer: she's from a line of great witches and she herself might be her family's most gifted. Most I talked to refers Diana as 'the pride of Luna Nova', and I don't particularly refuse that idea. Some even believed she's the most gifted student in all of Luna Nova's history, but I'm quite sure there're exaggerations to be found in that claim. Nonetheless, Luna Nova is blessed to have such a valuable student.

But then, there's that girl.

Kagari Atsuko, or Akko for short, she's anything but impressive so far. She seems to lack any sort of talent in any form of magic, yet she's still slacking off in classes and shows no real interest in them. Seeing her, I begin to wonder how in the world could a girl like her got accepted to this prestigious school.

But, then again, I'm here.

—

The first day of class went well, more than I'd anticipated. I'm honestly enjoying the atmosphere the school has and the dynamics within it. This day is almost fit to be called a good day, but it's not, chiefly because of one single deterring reason.

"WHAT, THEY DIDN'T COME?!"

"You didn't notice?" Michelle asks and pause her meal to talk to me. "There weren't any in the opening ceremony, so either they're late, or they changed their minds. Either way, they won't be attending this school because of it".

Michelle's answer was plain and simple. She shows no real concern over this new predicament, a complete contrast to me. I stammer, "But… I'm already… but that means…"

Michelle ignores my incoherent words and takes a bite of her sandwich. Between chews, she says, "Of course, if you think about it, this was to be expected. Aspiring wizards wouldn't want to waste their money experimenting on joining an expensive, formerly all-girls school. They'd rather waste them on already established expensive wizarding schools".

Her all too familiar answer convinces me the Headmistress told her the same thing she told me back on the first day I arrived. It's like she programmed Michelle to answer this once asked that.

"I heard that from the Headmistress, but they can't just do that!"

Michelle shrugs. "I mean, they can and have, apparently".

"Michelle, I'm already here! So if they didn't come that means I'll—"

"Be the only male student in the whole school?" Michelle finishes my sentence, a joyous smile on her lips at the thought of that and the misery it entails me.

"Yes! Correct! And you see no problem in this?!"

Michelle promptly loses her smile at this. She puts a finger to her chin, and after a good moment of thoughtful silence, she nods and answers, "Administrative problems".

" _Administrative_ problems", I repeat slowly, not believing what I hear.

"Administrative problems". Michelle reaffirms with a nod. "Look, you'll be fine being the only male student. It's not like the other students are going to lynch you up for it".

I feel like I'm genuinely cheated, yet I couldn't say anyone actually crossed me. The school's already accepted the applicants, and it's those applicants' own decision not to follow through. The school was not at fault for this predicament, and having nothing and no one to blame makes my situation all the more stressful.

Realizing there's no argument to make, I sigh and say, "Just when I thought I'm starting to like this place".

"If this is any consolation, the staffs are males", Michelle points out.

"Very helpful, Michelle".

Michelle says nothing and just shrugs. She finishes her sandwich quickly, gets up, crumples the wrap in her hands and, without a word, throws the wrap into the air. The rubbish immediately combusts in mid-air, the last pieces of the sandwich wrap turns to dust and ash before it could even land on the grass.

Michelle raises an eyebrow at my judging stare and asks. "What? There's no rubbish bin around".

She already changes the topic before I could make an argument on that, "Anyway, the labyrinth".

I reluctantly agree to this, only because it's actually a worthwhile topic to switch to.

"What of it?"

"Have you prepared for it?"

"For that treasure hunt event?" I ask back, earning an affirmative nod from Michelle. "I just read a few stuffs about what treasures might be in there, but really, there's not much to prepare with when it comes to that generally undocumented place".

"The place itself is sparsely documented, but its content isn't. I did a bit of reading as well, and I'm surprised to found some documentations of all kinds of things residing in the labyrinth, living and not".

I pause for a moment. "Is this your way of telling me to be careful down there?"

Michelle turns and walks away, she then offhandedly says with a wave of a hand, "Maybe, or this is my way of telling you to prepare and get a good grade there or go home.

She stops halfway out the courtyard and turns around and cries, "And don't forget to bring me what I asked you to earlier!"

—

I still find it hard to believe that I'll be the only male student here. The things that entail this fact begin to dawn on me, and I feel weighted down on it at every passing second. This 'only male student' thing is going to weight on me for as long as I stay here, the amount of pressure that status will bring!

I tighten my hold on the wooden crate on my hands. The nameless vials of potions and alchemy tools inside clink at my every step, what any of them are for I've yet to know. Michelle had asked me to help bring this to her, and I'm wise enough not to refuse. However I disliked being a pack mule for her to order around, I'd thought that fetching things for her and going back and forth in a new environment will help me get to know the school's layout faster, so I agreed for once. Now I find myself walking from one point of the school to another with a hefty crate on my hands and a small stack of books atop of it, books borrowed from the library as Michelle earlier had also told me to. Pollux this, Pollux that, these are the books I found in the library about the ominous labyrinth.

'As she told me this, as she told me that'. I'm no less than a fairy for Michelle at this point. Not that there's anything bad about fairies, of course.

As I round the corner of this still unfamiliar corridor, I saw a blur of blue and brown rushing towards me. I couldn't move away in time, it runs into me and makes me lose balance that one of my borrowed books slide off and fall down to the floor. The world seemed like it slowed down as the book made impact with the floor. I could see, terribly see, its pages gets folded and crumpled as the book falls to the ground.

The person who ran into me quickly withdraws and says, "Oh, gosh! I'm so, so, sorry!"

Despite myself, I try and stay polite. "T-that's fine".

I was about to pick up my book but the girl got the upper hand. In an effort to mend the damage she'd done and be polite, the girl picks up my fallen book for me. It would've been an endearing gesture, but the way she carelessly picks up the book and making it hang sends me into mild alarm.

I gasp inwardly, and judging from the oblivious reaction to the girl—who keeps a rather easy smile and attitude—I'm doing extremely well masking it.

The girl says, "Sorry about that, I wasn't looking! I was on my way somewhere fast so sorry for running into you. Here's your book, so sorry!

Still in an inward shock, I quietly eye the state of my book once I've taken it from her hand—its pages have seen better days.

I scream inwardly.

"T-thank you very much", I say with a light smile.

"Oh, I think I haven't met you before", the girl suddenly says, and then she continues to introduce herself, as if running into a someone and damaging his book warrants a friendly introduction.

"The name's Kagari, Atsuko Kagari, but my friends call me Akko".

"Yes, Akko", I reply. "I've heard of your name—".

"Really? How? Who? Did you hear good things about me from someone?" Akko interrupts me in a spectacular shift of attitude, her eyes are practically lighting up with enthusiasm. I almost feel bad when I answer.

"—In class, Akko".

"Oh, right". She says, losing her enthusiasm immediately.

Though to be honest, Akko, I've yet to hear any good things about you from anyone.

Two girls run up to Akko. The first one has lively blue eyes hidden behind a large pair of thick, round glasses. She has a neatly cut, short, ginger hair. Her most prominent features are the freckles that adorn her pale cheeks.

When it comes to the second girl, the first thing I notice about her is her terribly pale skin and her droopy, almost, sleepy eyes, one of them being covered completely by her smooth and long mauve hair that goes down to her back. She's taller than both Akko and the ginger haired girl, and she has a lither figure compared to the two.

Among the girls, the former is the only one that seems worried about the two of us, as evident from what the latter voiced the first time they catch up on us.

"See, this is what happens when you're being stupid", the girl says with a monotone and apathetic voice.

"Akko!" the ginger haired girl exclaims worriedly. She has many more to say, but her breathing was erratic so she had to stop just to take a breather before continuing. I can only imagine just how far these two had to run after Akko.

"I told you… to slow down", she says in between draws of breath.

"Sorry, sorry!" Akko nervously laughs and scratches the back of her head. She's not giving off an impression of being fully apologetic to neither of us. "But anyway! I ran into…"

Quite literally…

Akko turns and looks at me quizzically. She asks, "What's your name again?"

Something about her and her attitude makes me pause and think—she seems to lack any reactions.

Do these three not know that I'm a male student, _the_ male student? The one that's recently just revealed that will be the only one in the entire school? I'm not asking for one but I expected some reaction, at least more than this. I'm pretty sure news that there's only one male student should've spread by now, but there's a possibility that it hasn't. Perhaps the school doesn't want to lose face at the fact that the bulk of the male students changed their minds so they try to not mention it or even hide it?

Or, maybe, all this is happening for a much simpler reason. Either way, there's one way to figure out which is which.

I try to think of a girly name and answer, "Aldia".

"Nice to meet you", the ginger haired girl is first to say. With her energy returned, she found the strength to give me a polite smile. "I'm Lotte".

"Sucy", the pale one says plain and simple. I take it she's not the most talkative one in this group.

That nearly confirms it. They think I'm a girl, hence why they don't question the name. Despite these trousers I'm wearing, I suppose, I don't strike out as someone that masculine.

I'm not that surprised though, this shoulder-reaching long hair of mine and my honestly not too masculine looks does make me often times confused as a girl in the past. I suspect that prime of this misunderstanding is the fact that there're far more witches than wizards, so commonly, normal folk's first thought when looking at a person draped in wizardry attire is that they're witches—females. And apparently, revealed to me just now, that idea is extended to even among witches.

"Hey so… sorry about running into you, it's nice meeting you I really gotta go!" Akko says, already ready to leave me. "Lotte, Sucy, let's go!"

And just like that, Kagari Atsuko leaves the conversation and skips down the hallway. A small wave is the only thing I return.

Her two friends were about to follow her but I stop them, "Wait, she's not going to leave my book like this, is she? There's a bit of a tear on the page when she got hold of it".

Sucy frowns. She makes no attempt to hide her impatience as she says, "We're not the one who did that, ask Akko to repair it for you".

"No thanks!" I immediately interject. "I saw her trying to do mending magic like a day ago in white magic class and I don't think I'm…"

I don't need to finish my sentence to make my point. Lotte chuckles nervously while Sucy groans but nods in agreement.

With a polite smile, Lotte steps forward with her wand raised. "Let me fix it for you then, I'm quite capable in white magic".

"I'm terrible at it", I say, and add after a few moment of pause, "So thank you, I guess".

Lotte apparently uses spirit calling to do her mending spells. She uses it to fish tan earthy brown coloured wisp out into existence atop my book. She then leans closer to talk to the spirit, "Hey, my friend is wondering if you can you fix this thing".

She refers me as a friend—me, a complete stranger! She's already high up on my book.

With a nod, the spirit begins to mend the book back to its original condition. The folds and tear it received from the accident is slowly shaped into its original state. With the mending done, Lotte thanks the spirit and puts her wand back into the belt and a satisfied smile quickly made its way to her lips.

"Would that be enough?"

I take the book and inspect it. I note how the small chip at one page that I earlier noticed had already been there before Akko damaged it is also mended. It goes to show just how refined the spirit mending magic Lotte just used.

"That's incredible. You're amazing with white magic".

"Pleasure's all hers", Sucy answers impatiently before Lotte could. The girl's impatience shows even more when she leaves me without waiting for her friend, not another word for either of us or as she leaves.

And Lotte is left to catch up to her, not before waving a small goodbye and warm smile my way.

"Nice meeting you!" she says.

"L-likewise!"

What a pleasant person! She feels like a breath of fresh air after meeting her other teammates.

With that pleasant ending to the encounter, I carry my stuffs and move on.

—

This is the first time I've ever stepped foot in the botanical garden, and to my dismay, my expectations for it were too high. Chiefest killer of my expectation is, unfortunately, the first thing any visitor would see when they enter the garden; a sad decaying tree, sitting at the centre of the garden. I expect any visitor would be as unimpressed as I am.

Michelle, along with Miss Holbrooke and Finnelan, a stern professor I've come to know from one of my classes, are currently inspecting the same sad tree, yet aware of my arrival.

"I brought the things you asked", I say, announcing my presence.

Upon turning around, Michelle beams and playfully elbows her senior professor's side. She says. "Hah! See? Told you he's like a personal fairy"

Miss Holbrooke, indifferent to the two teacher's conversations, approaches me and takes the supplies from my hands. "Thank you, Mr Franklin"

I look past the headmistress and towards the decaying tree—none of them seems to show any initiative to mention it anytime soon. Awkwardly, I scratch the back of my head and ask, "So… are we going to address the Oliphant in the room?"

"Elephant, in the room", Miss Finnelan corrects me.

"Elephant, not Oliphant", Michelle too, corrects me.

Miss Holbrooke turns to the decaying tree. "This is the Jennifer Memorial Tree", she explains sombrely. "Sadly, its time seems to be passing now…"

As her explanation goes on, drowning me with endless information relating to botany, I can't help but have a voice at the back of my head pop a ridiculous question to what otherwise is a serious and emotional conversation.

Do trees die of old age?

"…And so, that's why we needed the supplies you brought. Is everything understood?" Miss Holbrooke finishes her explanation with a smile.

"Absolutely".

Michelle is already working on inspecting the tree, using odd magical potions and the likes brought here by yours truly, to search for any ailments while Miss Finnelan aids her in the process, using some sort of divinity magic to guide her through. Despite this, Michelle still has the room to divide her attention for me.

"So, found any books?"

"Only got this", I answer, waving the book that Lotte fixed earlier around. "I swear there's a lot yesterday, but apparently, just earlier today, someone borrowed _a lot_ of the books about the labyrinth, leaving none for the others".

"Someone's dedicated", Michelle remarks.

"I suppose that would be Diana", Miss Finnelan points out.

I reply, "Funny, that's what I said to the librarian. But she said it wasn't Diana, just some other student I probably haven't known yet".

Being in the same room, it's eventually inevitable that I'm forced to help the two teachers' endeavour. The work involves lots of dirty, unpleasant handiwork, and I'm glad that Michelle is the one that does all the digging instead of me. That appreciation grew ten-fold when I spot a millipede writhing in the soil Michelle just dug with a trowel.

I stay in the safe, helping Miss Finnelan collect the samples Michelle extracted.

We're at the back side of the tree, itself blocking our view towards the garden's entrance, so we fail to notice the three girls that just entered the room. From the voice, however, I'm made aware and could already tell who one of them is.

"The Jennifer memorial tree has been reduced to such a sorry state…" the girl spoke sombrely.

I peek from behind the tree and do find Diana, accompanied by two of her friends I haven't met. Michelle caught me being distracted and tugs me back by the sleeve of my shirt.

"It is so, Diana". Miss Holbrooke, the only one in the room engaged in conversation with them, replies. "This memorial tree is already advanced in years. Perhaps, it is finally reaching the end of its lifespan".

So… they do die of old age?

"We're working to figure out just what's happening to it", Miss Finnelan says. She'd stopped her work and now joins the conversation.

As if on cue, Michelle sticks her hand out from behind the tree and gives a brief thumb's up. And just like that, she returns to her work.

I stick my head out of the tree. "Hey, Diana".

"Oh, you're here. Are you helping the teachers deal with this?" Diana asks.

"I was just doing some errant, brought in some potions and whatnots", I answer, still behind the tree.

"Collecting samples, then?"

"Helping, I help collect the samples". I answer. My attention is already divided as Michelle tugs me by my sleeves again. "I'm pretty busy with helping now, so I got to get back to it, okay?"

One of Diana's friends stops me from returning to my work when she says, "Hey, we haven't known each other yet, right?"

The girl that stopped me has long, flowing auburn hair that she tied to a ponytail with a yellow ribbon. Her skin was a warm pink and her eyes are sharp and hazel in colour, those coupled with her sharp lashes somehow gives me the impression she's a firm attitude, and that she's the kind I wouldn't want to see when angry. Her most prominent feature however, or at least for me, are her thick eyebrows.

"I'm Hannah", she introduces herself.

"Barbara", the other, that being Barbara, says.

This one has long, straight black hair that flows down to her waist. She's of average stature, perhaps a few inches taller than Hannah and her skin is considerably paler than Hannah. Her eyelashes are highlighted on the lower part of her eyes and her eyebrows are almost as thick as Hannah's. The two of them wears sashes of the same colour as Diana's, indicating that they're in the same team of three.

"Jericho, Jericho Franklin Jr.", I introduce myself and get back to work.

The next 15 minutes are spent helping Michelle with her sampling; taking dead tree skins and roots, while the girls of the blue team talk with the Headmistress and Miss Finnelan. I overhear some parts of the conversation between them, they're mostly discussing about the state of the tree and the further implications of its depressing fate, reaching as far to it being the possible sign of the end of magic. Some parts of their conversation also discuss the recent decrease in students even. All interesting bits of conversation, but one that catches my full attention from there isn't among those.

"Hey, isn't her name a bit odd?" Barbara remarks.

"Who's name?" Diana asks, puzzled.

"Jericho? That doesn't sound like a girl's name at all".

I sort of accidentally snapped a root with a root hearing this. Michelle didn't notice and continues humming a tune. But the conversation continues, and despite myself, I keep eavesdropping, inching closer to the edge of the tree to better hear.

"That would be because he's not a girl", Miss Finnelan explains, amused at the reaction she's receiving.

The two girls, Hannah and Barbara, went silent after that. And then, I hear rushed footsteps coming close and I immediately quit my eavesdropping and return to my position of collecting samples.

Hannah and Barbara's heads pop into view, their bodies hidden on the other side of the tree as they peek from there to see me. Before I could look back at them, they're already on their way back to their little group. I couldn't make up the hushed whispers they're saying after.

—

"Skins, roots, and leafs, or what's left of them", Michelle says as she makes her way to the headmistress and Miss Finnelan. "Done, done, and extra done".

"I helped", I say from behind Michelle, her body covering me completely from the teachers.

"That's very good, Michelle", Miss Holbrooke says with a smile. "Now we just need to figure out what to do after we find the data. I believe we should consult with Professor Ursula next".

Hannah and Barbara approach us. There's a peculiar look of defeat in their eyes and equally in their voice.

"Miss Holbrooke, we're leaving for a bit", Hannah says.

"We're grabbing things for Diana", and Barbara adds.

"Of course", the headmistress says with a soft smile. "You don't need to ask permission just to leave, girls".

The girls doesn't return the humour and says nothing else as they went their way out of the botanical garden, they hang their heads and their eyes still hold the same defeat when they pass by me and not bothering a look. I only address this once the door close behind them.

"What was that about?"

I receive no immediate answer from both Miss Finnelan and Michelle. It was Miss Holbrooke who smiles, with a bit of chuckle even, and answers, "Oh, dear, they're just disappointed when they realize you're the only male student that's attending this school".

I could feel, exactly feel, I'm not the only one that choke on my words after hearing her answer. Michelle and Miss Finnelan both needed a second to register what the headmistress just dared to say.

"What?!" I cry, my voice definitely cracking.

"Miranda…" Miss Finnelan says as she messages her temple.

"I know that old people are blunt, but I didn't know they're this merciless". Michelle jokes, though humour doesn't reach to her tone or expression.

"That's what they said, though", miss Holbrooke innocently says.

Michelle exhales audibly at the Headmistress's innocence. She's probably surprised that someone in the room is blunter and more merciless than Miss Finnelan.

There was a momentary pause then. Not four of us know what to really say. So Michelle rests her hands on her hips, whistles for a bit before finally breaking the silence.

"So, anyway, on the other news, shouldn't we go?"

Miss Finnelan nods in agreement. She clears her throat and says, "You're right. This might be an… interesting conversation, but time isn't our luxury at this moment".

So the two of them decide to leave, Michelle places a hand on my shoulder as she passes me and says, "The sun's going to start setting pretty soon. I don't want to make Ursula wait".

After a smile, Miss Holbrooke follows the two outside. "Have a nice evening, Mr Franklin". She says, and it almost sounds like a mock when you take into account what she just said seconds ago.

Watching the professors leave, Diana comes up beside me. She clears her throat, but I already whip my head towards her before she finishes doing it, surprising her.

"Can you believe it?!"

Diana blinks for a moment before answering, "You're not that distinguishable from some girls, with the way you have your hair". She pauses momentarily and briefly glances at the sash I wear. "And the colour you chose for yourself".

It's pink, if you're wondering. Yes, I like that colour and no one can think me otherwise.

I take a breather after Diana's level-headed response. "No, not that… I'm talking about the part where they said they're disappointed, ring any bells?"

"Truthfully, I don't quite get what they're on about as well, but I believe they're holding a strong belief of 'quality over quantity' after they heard that the other male students declined, and that you broke that belief once they saw you".

"Excuse me?" I exclaim, putting no effort to hide my offense.

But Diana says, "Don't take offense, they have very high standards".

I throw my hands in the air in defeat, "Oh, I don't know, that's mighty hard to do when some girls just say that you're disappointing, Diana".

I pause and wait for her reaction with narrow eyes, but Diana's currently pausing as well, though hers is much more of a silent and calm contemplation as she assesses me and what to say to me. The contrast between the two of us is almost comical as we're locked in a somewhat odd staring contest.

Then, Diana finally says, "If this is any consolation, then I don't find you as lacking as those two girls think".

My brows tighten to a frown and I narrow my eyes even further. "That's very helpful, Cavendish".

Eventually, Hannah and Barbara returns to the garden and made us put a stop to our conversation. I hate that they came in such a crucial part of our conversation, but I say nothing when they arrive and just wait out the interaction and see how things go.

"We brought the stones like you asked us to do, Diana". Barbara says, held in her hand is a bag full of strange green rocks. "Will these be enough?"

Diana takes one of the rocks and nods. "I believe so". She turns to me and asks. "While you're here, do you mind helping me?"

Diverting the topic, I see what you're doing you bastard.

"Depends", I answer nonetheless. Bear in mind, I'm still and most likely will stay sour and salted with a bit of onion cream at the change of topic.

I add, "But if it's anything weird, I won't help".

—

This isn't strange, but this isn't exactly normal either.

Rocks, out of all things, we're setting them in a circular formation around the decaying tree. However, judging from the formation that Diana had instructed us to make with the rocks, I don't question the motive of her request, knowing that, anything it is she's planning, it won't be as mundane as it seems now.

One thing does however peak my curiosity and made me ask. "Why does the tree have a face, anyway?"

"I've heard that, according to legend, Jennifer, a renowned, powerful witch, transmitted her spirit to this tree to see how Luna Nova will evolve. Perhaps that'll explain why it has a face", Diana explains, she herself pausing her work to look at the shape of the tree's face.

I pause for a moment before making my response. "That's… terrifying. It must be boring having to be a stationary tree for like… years"

"Thousands", Diana adds.

"That's even more boring…"

A few more stones set and we're basically done. Hannah and Barbara themselves had done their work on their side, and so Diana takes out her wand and prepare her spell and consequently revealing me her intentions.

"So that's the plan?" I ask the girl, "revitalization magic?"

Diana nods. "Provided enough nourishment, large plants can be brought to life again. This is a secret art passed down through generations of the Cavendish family".

I gulp, her explanation is much more intense than I'd expected. And taking note of what she said, once Diana raises her wand, I turn my head away.

Hannah notices this and raises a brow. "What _are_ you doing?"

I turn to her. "I-I thought she said secret?" and she replies with an exasperated sigh.

Diana begins to draw out her magic. Magic swirls around in the room, as palpable as the cool air that blows through the room and as firm as the ground beneath our feet, they gather around and into Diana as she harnesses them for her spell. With a deep breath, the witch of the Cavendish family makes use of the abundant magic around her as she waves her wand and chants.

"Louperial Ral!"

Soft, glowing lights of revitalization magic materialize around her figure. They fly out and home towards the stones we've set and immediately they spread through them all like fire, bright green and roaring, yet serene at the same time. Green, lively colours bath the tree and sparks of life, quite literally, can be seen nourishing it.

The effects are immediate. Its once leafless branches begin to sprout new, healthy and verdant groups of leaves, recovering the tree's lost crown. Its old and rigid barks begin to shed its old skin and reveal new, livelier and healthier skins. And its trunk returns to its former strength, or even surpassing it, as it now stands evem taller than it's ever been. The tree looks far better than it was mere seconds ago.

With a proud smile, Diana sheaths her wand and announces, "The flow of nutrients should now be restored".

Hannah, Barbara and I are equally awed at what just unfolded, but being the one who've spent the least amount of time knowing Diana and her abilities, I'm much more awed compared to the two. They've already collected themselves before I could even pick up my jaw from the ground.

"You've done it, Diana!" Hannah praises her friend, and Barbara is already about to leave the botanical garden.

"Let's go inform the teachers!" She says excitedly, and her friend soon follows with similar excitement.

I'm awed by a lot of things at this moment, but the feeling of awe begins to be eclipsed by one budding question. Once the surprise wears off (which takes a good amount of time), I ask Diana. "You have this spell in your head and none of the teachers know about that kind of spell?!"

"It's a secret art after all", Diana replies coolly, "exclusively known only to my family".

"That's not the surprise, but the fact that there're spells as great as this unknown to the public is".

Diana nods and after a brief silence says, "I understand what you're saying. The world of magic is indeed very vast and deep. Some spells are hidden away for safety or even greed, and some others are even forgotten, intentionally or unintentionally".

"Fair enough", I say after seconds of pause, though I still hold the idea that it's quite unfair that some exclusive groups of people have access to such spells that, as Diana just shown, is capable of such great effects.

All things considered, I believe there's some truth in Diana's words, that some spells are better left secrets than publicly known, for better or for worse.

A sudden noise takes my attention away from our conversation. I discovered it's made by the sprouting of a root from the ground next to me. The nourishment seems not only powerful but astoundingly stable as well, it's been continuing even during our conversation which makes me realize just now how adept Diana is with her magic. Knowing a secret spell only known to her family is one thing, but to execute it so well and perfect to achieve this kind of result truly shows Diana's individual quality. Seeing this, I begin to understand the respect Diana Cavendish commands.

An opening on the soil reveals another healthy growth of roots. With how well the spell is going, I just hope the roots don't upturn the soil too much.

But once again, the universe defies my hopes. The root keeps pushing out the ground and parting the soil, this begins to worry me. I kneel next to the growth and inspect it. "That doesn't look so good, might trip someone in the near future".

Diana, however, doesn't share the same humour as me. She eyes the growing roots carefully and out of my notice, she stays silent after.

It's only after a good amount of thoughtful silence does she finally open her mouth, eyes fixed on the roots still. "This is but a simple after effect, the nourishment simply triggered growth, and it's what's happening. No reason to be alarmed".

The moment she said that, one of the roots rises even higher as it grows, nearly reaching knee level. It was quick and happened right beside me, sending me into mild alarm.

"E–eh, it's getting bigger? Part of your spell, Diana?"

Diana furrows her brows and doesn't answer immediately. This is the first time I saw hesitation in her—its unnerving. "That's odd…" she mutters.

And the roots, the tree itself, begin to show unexpected development.

"E–eh, its glowing, the roots all glowy! Diana, is this part of the spell?"

"This isn't—"

Before Diana could finish her sentence, a wild growth of the roots caused one to jut straight out the ground, it rises as tall as our heads, uplifting dirt and soil as it continues to grow.

"Is this really part of the spell?!" I cry, officially freaked out.

Diana's eyes search the tree rapidly and it's clear as day this isn't part of her spell and that she too has no idea what's going on. She then turns to look at me, but I make it clear I'm as clueless as her.

"I didn't touch anything, I swear!"

We both hear the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the entrance. I was terrified that it was the teachers and was planning to blame it on Diana and hotfoot out of here but I'm relieved to find its just Akko, Sucy, and Lotte.

Regardless…

"What's going on here?!" Akko cries.

I speak before Diana could say a thing. "I didn't do anything it was Diana, I swear to God!"

I didn't get to check what the blonde's reaction was to my betrayal as all our attention suddenly shifts when we hear Lotte's cry. Beside the girl, a root has grown right out of the ground and reaches head level, but that alone doesn't guarantee our surprise, it's the odd object attached to it that is. Before any of us could register what it is, more roots start to sprout from the ground around us, and along with them, are attached the same odd objects.

Sucy studies one carefully and breaks our stunned silence with her out of place level voice. "Pupae, and they're not the ordinary ones".

"Not ordinary…?" I ask rhetorically. Meanwhile one of the pupae-controlled roots sprout from the ground and straight up to the ceiling, cracking a few glasses and sending them raining down the ground across the room. "…no way".

Diana's eyes quickly search each of the pupae. "These are parasites! They've been lying underground all this time attaching themselves to the roots. This is why the tree got sick".

As if to prove her point, the pupae begin to pulse and the nutrition of the roots they've attached themselves into begins to drain away and flow towards them. Their previously healthy colours turn pale white and subsequently, the parasites' colours grow livelier.

The memorial tree's very life is being sucked out of them with each passing second!

"Then your spell! They must've consumed it for themselves instead!" I conclude, earning a tight-lipped nod from Diana.

"We need to exterminate them!" Diana commands "Only then will nutrients get back and the tree is saved!"

"Right, I'll search for a pesticide, while you…"

Before I could finish my sentence, a bolt of magical energy flies past me towards one of the pupae. It hit its mark and immediately burns the pupae's magic and killing it.

I retract a finger back. "…murder the pupae".

"Use your spells!" Diana instructs without looking back, already engaged in the fight and too busy preparing her next spell.

I quickly unbuckle my wand and pause to draw a deep breath to level myself. There's no time to think of any fancy spells, anything that could hit hard enough will do.

I follow Diana's stride and cast a hefty amount of Murowa at the pupas. Though compared to hers, mine are terribly meagre, both in strength and frequency. I'm otherwise relieved to find they're enough to do the job, as one hit was enough to kill the pesky parasites.

A nearby root grows near me and a clear target presents itself. I aim my wand at it but before I could fire away, something tackles me to the ground. The impact knocked the air out my lungs and I accidentally fire off my spell. It flies off its mark and to the glass ceilings above us.

"Akko, I swear to God!" I yell once I have a clear view of my assailant, "What's wrong with you and ramming into me?"

My stray Murowa hits the glass panels and bounces off to another, over and over again it bounces here and there, onto one wall to another and gaining speed as it continues to bounce around the room. It reaches an alarming speed and it nearly took my head if I didn't duck quickly enough. In this chaos I've created—and Akko co-authored—I lost track of the girl while I'm too preoccupied with dodging my own attack and having a panic moment.

That panic is multiplied by seven when the stray spell hits a lantern and spills it's still burning oil into one of the roots and setting it on fire.

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" My screams are louder than anything in the room. "Water spell, I-I don't know any water spells!"

In my moment of panic, a ball of water suddenly appears above the fire like a miracle from god above and falls onto it, effectively extinguishing it. I look next to me to find Sucy, her wand aimed at where the fire used to be.

She gives me a sidelong glance. "Trust me. This isn't the first time she set fire to the school".

"I didn't stop her for nothing!" Akko cries. "These pupae… I think… we're not supposed to kill them off".

I say nothing and observe Sucy's—the girl who definitely knew her better than I do—reaction instead. She says nothing too, held in a thoughtful silence as she's actually taking in what Akko is saying.

A sound made her stop think and look across, towards Diana who just used another murowa spell to exterminate a couple pupas.

Sucy looks back to her friend. "Whatever brilliant idea you think you have, don't try to stop Diana's by doing anything—"

And Akko immediately runs and places herself between a pupae and Diana's raised wand.

"—stupid, like that", Sucy finishes, just barely in time.

"What are you doing?" Diana hisses, her wand still trained at Akko's direction. "These vermin need to be exterminated!"

"These might not be vermin!" Akko cries and stands her ground. "I think we're not supposed to kill them, Diana!"

With time against her, Diana didn't have the luxury to waste precious seconds arguing pointlessly with the pig headed girl, so she aims her wand to another pupa and quickly fires off another spell.

"Murowa!"

And Akko instantly moves. She makes a run to the pupae and throws herself in front of it. Diana's spell hit her right on her back, and Akko lets out a painful scream as magic courses through her body, burning her senses as if a million needles just pricked all over her body.

Everything felt slow at that moment. I could see everything unfolding so clearly, but I couldn't react in any way. I only watched as Akko's lively face contorts at the pain and she falls to the ground hard.

It was Lotte who first to react among us, she cries her friend's name but receives no reply and she runs to her while we all stare, wide-eyed at the girl now lying unconscious on the ground.

"She took the full brunt of that spell …" Sucy says as she inspects the incapacitated and sickly pale Akko, her head resting weakly on Lotte's arms. The pale witch that normally wears a passive and inexpressive mask now shows genuine worry for her friend. "…It doesn't look good".

Diana stands furthest away from the girl. All that single-tracked focus on eradicating the pupas is now overridden by an unbearable amount of guilt, as evident in her eyes that's transfixed on Akko.

I kneel beside her and touch her hand—it's unnaturally cold.

I say, "This is bad. We should get her to the infirmary immediately".

I look up to Diana but found no response from her. She doesn't meet my gaze. From her silence and that rare look of uncertainty in her eyes, I could guess she won't make any responds anytime soon.

My thoughts are cut off as I notice some cards scattered on the ground next to the unconscious girl. One of them immediately catches my attention and I reach to it.

Akko tackled me and allowed my spell to nearly burn the tree just to save one pupae. She explicitly stated her disagreement with Diana, and threw herself into the crossfire that ultimately injured her. Did she do all that because of…

"Papiliodiya…" Akko's eyes slowly open when she notices me studying one of the cards. She continues to speak in whispers, "…hatch once every 120 years. It's a magic butterfly that…"

"…gives hope to those who see it", I finish her sentence, earning a weak nod from Akko.

A light at the edge of my vision catches my attention. Laid on the ground is a sceptre, medium-length with golden ornament at the end and seven blue crystals spread around its body. I note that the positioning of those crystals resembles the big dipper constellation, and each of them is glowing brilliantly, living up to the name its owner dubbed it.

"Shiny Rod" Akko whispers almost inaudibly.

"Shiny… rod", I mumble its name. I remember it now, she's been carrying this everywhere and I heard most people think it's useless, me included. None of us speaks a word as we see the magic swirling around the rod that had been otherwise thought to be useless.

It was Lotte who breaks the silence. She pushes herself up, takes the card from my hand and shows it to Akko. "Akko, why don't you cast this spell?"

"The papiliodiya spell…" Akko reads and, having regained enough strength, nods eagerly. "Yeah!"

With the help of her two friends, Akko picks up the sceptre and gets up. Diana and I step back to give them room, the latter left wondering what power pushed Akko's pain away and gave her the energy to send her back to her former self.

I hold up the card and read it. "I think it says… Papilio fil…. Papilio fil…"

"Papilio Fillio Nymphodya" Diana finishes my sentence. "It's the correct pronunciation".

I'm left more uncertain than ever. Did Diana saw the card earlier? I didn't believe she did, and she couldn't possibly see it now that it's held in my hand. So how did she know the spell?

Regardless, Akko now knows the spell, and that's what matters most. So she thanks Diana and returns her focus onto her sceptre. With Sucy and Lotte by her side, she closes her eyes and starts.

"Papiliodiya that can fly across five continents, spread your wings, magic butterfly, fly towards hope!"

The seven gems on the sceptre begin to glow even more brilliantly with green light. And Akko opens her eyes as she casts the final part of the spell. With a mighty swing, she raises the sceptre up and down and shouts.

"Papilio Fillio Nymphodya!"

Her voice echoes through the entire room, and great streams of magic bursts out of the sceptre in a spectacular show of colour. The magic connects with the pupas and they remain like a river of pure magic that keeps flowing, giving nutrition to the pupas. The once withered pupas suddenly return to their healthy colours. Its once limp spikes straighten again, and dead skins are replaced with fresh ones waiting underneath.

And then, finally, a resounding crack fills our ears. We turn to see where it originated from, but another crack makes us turn to follow it instead. And the cracking noise keeps appearing again and again, increasing in amount until we see each and every pupas has cracked open, revealing within them small, humanoid figures, each no bigger than a raven. I see one of them outstretches its hands, 4 in number, and spreads its beautiful golden wings, consequently, and literally, spreading light around the room. And it's not just a single incident, the rest of the pupas follows suit, revealing themselves in the same majestic manner.

The room is now bathed in the butterflies' golden light, they glimmer and shine around us like golden starlight. Then the butterflies begin to take flight, exiting the room through a crack in the ceiling made earlier by one of the rampant roots and flies into the sunset sky undisturbed. The whole scene paints a picture I never knew I'd see in my life.

"Papillio Fillio… Nymphodya", I mutter to myself as I take in the view, awed. I glance at the card in my hand and realize the striking similarity.

Then I look at Akko, who still stands between her two friends, all three of them still captivated in the moment. One question left budding in my mind.

How did _she_ do it?

* * *

 **Author's Goodbyes: I admit, pretty basic and slow on this chapter, sorry! I promise things will get more interesting and eventful in the next, so stay tuned!**

 **Next time on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Hannah gets super pissed off at our beloved OC, and I mean SUPER pissed off.**


	3. Attack of the Killer Golem part 1

"Aldia! Wait up!"

I flinch at the sound of that voice, more so to the name she addressed me with, but I decide to just bear through it. Turning around to face the girl, I put on the best smile I could muster. "M-morning, Akko. I didn't know you're already allowed to leave the infirmary. You did go to the infirmary as I told you to, right?"

Akko slows her pace to a walk once she catches up to me so she could walk beside me. "I did, I did! I'm totally fine now. You're much more worried about me than I am!"

Despite myself, I couldn't help but humour her. "I tend to be a worrywart when someone I know got hit by what's basically radioactive magical energy".

"You're such a worrywart. You're starting to sound like Lotte".

"I'll take that as a compliment".

"Anyhow, do you have free time later?"

"Depends", I answer plainly. "What's the occasion?"

"I heard that there's a pretty cool bakery shop opening in town. I'm planning to go there with Sucy and Lotte, but you can come if you want".

"Hm, then I'm pretty occupied", I answer, and before Akko could ask me to elaborate, I add, "Indefinitely. You do know that in a matter of weeks, we'll have a treasure hunt event, don't you? I originally wanted to spent my yesterday burying my nose in a book or another and learn more about the labyrinth, but circumstances such as magical 'few in a hundred years' butterfly taking flight made it hard to concentrate".

"Just say you're too lazy to read", Akko elbows me. "And besides, it's still days away, it's okay to be lazy about it!"

"Famous last words", I remark casually.

"Worrywart~" Akko returns.

—

Today we're instructed to create golems during class. Besides my table is the red team's. There, Akko rigorously tries to create hers. She made a whole lot of mess on her work station in the process.

In the short time I've known her, Akko's been a lot of things, but talented isn't one of them, but the girl, or rather, her magic from a few days ago, intrigued me to no end. I can't quite figure out that magic, it's foreign yet familiar. So because of that, I'm compelled to stick with her just to see her use something like that again.

The problem is, after the Papiliodiya incident, Akko's been spending her time recovering from that murowa she received from Diana and I don't believe she'll be back to her full strength too quickly, so she isn't in any state to cast any magnificent spell anytime near.

I was looking when Akko fails to make a visually pleasing golem. She makes a funny face at it. I can't help but sigh and be amused at her personality.

"Maybe if you try something simple and not a perfect replica of Shiny Chariot, then you'll have better luck", I tell her.

Akko pushes herself off the desk. "But I want my mini Chariot! If I believe hard enough I'm sure I can make her!" And she resumes her golem-making, taking her words into action.

"Believe, huh", I hum, and begin to drool. "Then I believe lunch today is going to be T-bone steak".

On the edge of my hearing, I hear an interesting conversation going on somewhere in class. Some students are talking about the labyrinth and the treasure hunt event that'll be held in there in a few days.

"I heard there're monsters inside! And not just any monsters…"

"I heard there're Minotaur, and even a Cyclops, or so I heard from my friend".

"I just hope they're not skeletons", one student says. "They spook me to no end…"

"I heard from my big sister that there's one particular haunting skeleton in the labyrinth. She said that it carries a trumpet with it always and plays it despite not having any lungs!"

"That's terrible!"

"That's so spooky!"

"Well, you could say that the skeleton is out of the closet now", the girl who told the story winks, and immediately all the girls' expression around her sour.

"Please don't".

"Sorry".

The topic that had been going around among students lately is the labyrinth and what lies within it. As the treasure hunt event dawns ever closer each day, students had gradually grown anxious while some others are excited of the coming adventure. And it's no surprise that, out of all the things being talked about the labyrinth, the obstacles, the big bad monsters said to inhabit there, are what's being hot topic around here.

On the right side of my table is the blue team's. I turn to the still preoccupied Akko, working hard on her Chariot replica, her attention undivided, and believe that she won't need my company in a while.

I quietly slip away and go to Diana to talk. My main question for her: the truth about the monsters hidden down there in the labyrinth. I'm quite sceptical about the monster tales so far; they sound like, even in wizarding standards, bedtime stories to scare people away from the labyrinth. Hence why Diana surprises me when she nods and, just as I expected of the Cavendish, shows no sign of humour.

"The labyrinth houses a great number of creatures, some terrible enough for people to call them monsters. The place itself is like an isolated biome, hidden from the world, a perfect spot for reclusive creatures to dwell and survive".

"That's not what I need to hear right now", I groan. "And we're to go down there and find treasures".

"It seems so".

While I do enjoy the prospect of exploration and adventure in a curious and historical place, the idea that I'd be doing it in such a perilous place begins to deter me. The novelty of adventure and exploration begins to be overshadowed by the cruel reality of the possibility of death down there.

"In any way, I'm glad you're that interested in the event", Diana remarks, pulling me out of my anxious thoughts.

"Really? What makes you say that?" I ask. I don't believe I've openly expressed my interest on it, all except to Akko just earlier, and I'm yet to be sure these two share words often.

"I saw you going to the library numerous times lately, and notice that you keep borrowing the books about the labyrinth".

Diana catches my bewildered stare and explains further. "I notice because I intended to borrow those books. I don't mind, though".

"N-no, that's not it…"

That's odd. I don't believe I borrowed _that_ many books. I just borrowed once or twice the other day and another: that day the magical butterflies broke out and another the next day, and they amount to two or three books in total. Perhaps Diana just mistook my borrowing amount and some other students or more are the ones that took the books.

But whatever it is, it's not worth to waste my time thinking about such trivial misunderstanding.

I shake my head. "…No, never mind that, there's something better to ask, like how am I going to go through this? I heard we'll go in teams and as far as I know I'm the only team-less sort in the whole school.

Diana places a finger to her chin. "I don't believe I know the answer… but I believe the teachers already have their plans for you in order".

"Just hope so", I say and jest. "I don't want to die alone if I were to, down there".

Diana doesn't return the humour, like she always does. She looks at my work instead for a change of topic, and her fine brows slightly arch at the sight of it. "Is that…"

"It is", I answer once I catch where her gaze is.

Hannah and Barbara who've been near but out of our conversation suddenly join at the mention of my sculpture. Once they lay their eyes on it, they're practically gleaming.

"Heeh, a cat, how cute", Barbara squeals.

"I made it after my cat", I tell them.

Diana herself seems quite impressed at the craftsmanship. She leans close to the cat to study the fine strokes I did for its fur and whiskers. "That's impressive…"

"That's so cool…" Hannah coos.

"Yeah", I say, smiling proudly, it soon disappears and a tight-lipped frown replaces it. "He got run over around a week ago".

Hannah and Barbara immediately went silent. I look to their faces to observe their expressions, they're ghostly pale and their eyes are wide and fixated to the sculpture. They take a few quiet steps back from the deceased cat sculpture they're just doting mere seconds ago.

"My condolences", Diana was the only one able to speak. "It must've been tough".

"Pets", I shrug. "You're going to outlive them anyway, I guess. This one just decided to go quicker".

Diana just quietly grunts, not really knowing how to respond to my statement nor where this conversation is going. I too share the same feeling, so I take my wand and decide to move the show forward. "I haven't put my magic in it. Maybe it'll look better if I do. Pray I won't lose an arm and a leg doing this though".

Before the girls could ask what I meant with that morbid remark, my magic had already started to flow into the sculpture. They seep into its very flesh and bones, moving joints and giving life to its muscles. The golem dully glows as my magic works its way through it, and when it finally fades, the sculpture begins to move. The first is its chest, it rises and falls as it takes its first, deep breathes. And in slow and heavy manner, it moves its limbs for the first time, audibly cracking a few skin-clays in each movement.

The cat golem opens its eyelids and its soulless eyes stare at the four of us. Its mouth suddenly hangs open, too wide for any living cat could and it lets out a pained, guttural groan. Its throat is an empty gaping abyss, and immediately the colour drains from Hannah and Barbara's faces as they both collapse to their knees and cling on to Diana's legs.

"Sorry!" was all I can say when I see them.

I notice Diana's concerned eyes leaving the two and stops dead on their tracks once she looks at me. Following it, I see her looking warily at my shoulder and the cat golem that's now already climbed up there.

I gulp and gingerly lift it up like one would a cat and place it back on the table. I try my best to ignore this thing for now and look back to Diana while trying to mask my fear. "A-anyhow, what did you make?"

Diana blinks a few times but says nothing. She just steps aside to reveal the golem she's sculpted on her table, a beautiful unicorn.

"…It's the Cavendish guardian symbol". Diana says after a moment. As she raises her wand, the golem quickly comes to life and moves with life-like flexibility and dexterity, a sea-wide contrast compared to mine.

Some students couldn't help but look at the creation with awe. Though as for Akko, she's chews her lip irritably at the attention the golem and its creator is getting. I glance at Akko and find an amused smile creeping up my lips at the sight of a terribly made Shiny Chariot sculpture held between her hands.

A for effort, Akko.

And then, after the beauty they've seen in the form of the unicorn, the onlookers' eyes eventually drift to the cat golem sitting dormant beside it, and immediately they lose the light on their faces.

Out of nowhere, a new golem walks across the table and enters the scene. This one is a red panda.

"Whoa, that's pretty cute!" I remark, glad that there's something's cute for once in this golem making class.

Hannah quickly pushes herself up, her previous fear somewhat replaced with confidence and pride now. "T-that's mine, of course it'll be cute!"

The red panda is already mobile and lively, it walks over to another golem on the table, this one a panda. They continue to play and chase each other around, both seems to be having a great time.

Barbara too now regains her footing and looks to the golem she's made play with her friend's. "Hah! They're playing!" she says with a squeal.

And of course, Diana's unicorn eventually follows. It prances close to the two golems and the three gets along quite well.

I glance at Diana and note the brief smile that appears, but she's quick to make it disappear.

The whole classroom, except for Akko who looks at them with envy, couldn't help but look to the playing golems with fondness. None could deny the wholesomeness of the moment, even Akko knows this, yet she remains indignant.

The whole class feels relaxed, enjoying the sweet moment, until without warning, a blur of clay tackles onto the red panda, immediately knocking it away from the other golems it's playing with. The atmosphere in the room palpably dropped.

The golem cat, my golem cat, had out of nowhere leaped out its dormancy and into primal instinct. It's now on top of the vulnerable red panda, its fangs bared and before any of us could react, the cat brutally mauls at the red panda, digging its teeth deep on the red panda's neck and clawing its prey right to the bones. Bits of clay meat fly into the air as the brutality ensues. Hannah and I look at the horror with equally open jaws. It happened too quickly, no one could register let alone react to the change of situation.

The panda however could, it runs to its friend's rescue, but the cat swiftly dodges the panda's tackle and does a mean counterattack with its right claw. The panda stumbles backwards and regains its footing, paw pressed on the nasty gash it just received on its cheek. Distracted with the panda, the cat failed to notice the charging unicorn. It charges right at it and trains its horn at the cat's stomach and impales it through. The cat wails and writhes but the unicorn continues its charge until it runs into a wall, pinning the cat there and immobilizing it.

The panda has now recovered and after taking a sorrowful glance at its fallen friend, charges back at the cat. The panda takes the opportunity and begins punching at the cat while it's still stuck, successfully knocking a few clay teeth out and cracking its cheek in its flurry of punches. But the panda being this close might be what the cat needed to escape.

Using its free left claw the cat swipes at the panda's side. It connected, and the panda stumbles back at the pain and fell onto the unicorn's back. They're both stunned and fell to the ground, and the cat is freed from the unicorn's impalement. The cat wastes no time celebrating and lunges at the vulnerable panda, it brings its claws down…

…And into the unicorn's neck.

The panda could only see in horror as its friend sacrifices itself to save it. The unicorn could only look to the panda with teary eyes before the cat swipes its claw right through its neck, slicing it clean off.

The limp body of the unicorn falls to the table and its head tumbles to a stop near the panda's legs. The panda's now trembling, unsure of what to do. Shocked, and too in grief for its friends to do anything but sit in despair.

The cat prowls ever slowly forward, provokingly pressing its sharp claws on the unicorn's lifeless body as it climbs over it. It's trying to savour the moment, the climax of the conflict, the victory of the hunt.

The panda shuts its eyes and tears roll down its cheeks. It's unable to move any longer, it's too afraid, too sad, to fight, while the cat smiles maliciously, showing its crooked, broken fangs. It lunges forward, claws raised high up and jaw hang open, ready to send the final blow.

And the final blow did come, but it came from the panda. The cat stopped, its body suspended in mid-air as something sharp impales its body. It looks down in horror, and found a long and sharp object on the panda's paws, now puncturing its stomach. The unicorn's horn, the panda had bravely plucked it from the lifeless head of its friend and used it as a last stand weapon.

The cat couldn't fight, it's lost too much in the fight and it couldn't hold any more pain. Its eyes went white as they're pulled to the back of its head and its limbs grow limp and finally, it slumps down to the table.

The panda could only look at the cat in disbelieve, horn still clutched tightly in its paws. But it suddenly falls to its knees and clutches its side in pain. A fresh wound is there, done by the cat in its final attack that we thought the panda fully stopped.

The panda falls to its side, but we did not find sadness or grief in its expression, but one of victory and joy. It looks to the bodies of its friends and a tear runs down its cheeks and it smiles.

It won't be alone for long, it' won't be for long.

The whole class sit in silence as the panda closes its eyes, its final breathe was released with a smile still present on its mouth and joy in its heart, knowing wherever it'll go, its friends will be waiting there.

Among all the students, there're many mixed feelings and reaction to what's unfolded. Some sees it as a tragic and horrible tale, while another would see it as a heroic and beautiful tale. It's hard to tell which student feels which, but from the quiet sobs and smiles they wear, I'm sure what's happened had left a lasting impression on all of them.

Barbara is sobbing, but she wears a proud smile. Diana is shaking her head and is already preparing her wand to fix the mess, and Hannah, well, Hannah's jaw is agape and she's speechless, probably upset that out of all of them, hers is the one that gets killed first and most brutally. I short of share the same reaction with Hannah, because now I fear that the girls' golems haven't been scored yet and I just ruined their completely great works.

Hannah tries to make words appear, but only parts of them come out. "I… my… the golem…"

I very slowly and quietly step back from the group, but apparently I wasn't quiet enough as Hannah suddenly turns and glares at me. She points her finger at me and cries, "You! You murdered my golem!"

I promptly raise both my hands up in surrender. "B-but that wasn't me, it was my golem!"

"I haven't got it scored!"

"I haven't got mine scored too, and neither does Diana and Barbara but they're not upset about it!"

Hannah is at a loss of words after my respond. She blinks a few times, not believing I just said that.

"That's because theirs are not a puddle of clay on the table! Mine is freaking ruined! And why did your golem attacked mine the worst, huh?!"

"I-I don't know, it must've liked it! I'm sorry!" I cry at the sight of Hannah's raised clenched fists.

Hannah's eye twitches and she grits her teeth. Nothing comes out of her open mouth until a few more seconds. "Just- you- you're going to make my golem for me!"

That's not okay! Hannah isn't the only one with this problem now. I have to remake my golem as well, so I have to protect my interest before fulfilling my responsibility towards others. I have to be strong and resolute now

With a stern voice and a serious look, I respond. "I refuse! I have to fix mine first".

"Do it", Hannah hisses with pure venom in her voice.

"Ok, ok, I will", I respond in whimpers.

"I can help you remake it, Hannah", Diana offers but Hannah declined almost immediately, knowing that if she accepts help from her, Diana would lose precious time and won't have time to fix her own. That and the fact she currently wants my blood because I'm really the one responsible here.

"No. We'll be fine", she says, losing her softness once she turns from Diana to me. "Won't we?"

I feel like my neck would unhinge if I nod any faster.

While Diana and Barbara are busy fixing their own golems, I have to help Hannah remake hers from scratch. To not waste material, I had to scoop the remains of her previous golem and sculpt something new from it.

"God, what a waste", I remark as I have to scoop the sticky bits from the seams of the wood.

"I didn't pay you to complain", Hannah hisses.

"You didn't pay me anything".

The original plan was for me to make Hannah's golem by my own to teach me a lesson, but since time is running out and Hannah grew impatient at my sloppy work at imitating hers, she's forced to pull up her sleeves and get dirty again.

She grumbles. "I swear to god, if this ends up terrible…"

We both try our best to work together, but with the teacher coming close to scoring the golems, panic begins to fill our heads and our work quality takes a big hit.

"That's the legs, you idiot, put it where it belongs!" Hannah yells.

"It's not like you made it indistinguishable from its arms!" I shot back indignantly, and I almost regret that immediately.

"What did you say?!"

"N–nothing, ma'am!"

We try our best to build the golem together, but working together only proves the weakness of it as we can't seem to find our pace and end up stepping on each other's foots over and over again.

"Oh my god, this looks terrible" I wince as I take a look at the full picture.

"Then shut up and fix it!" Hannah snaps.

"Wait, Hannah, I think this one looks better this way".

"Stop shoving me away!"

"I'm just trying to help!"

"Then be helpful! Stop making things worse!"

The bell tolls and it felt like my heart skipped, and I assume Hannah's as well. All the students proceed to lay their golems at the front of the class for the teacher to inspect and grade. Those whose golems have been scored are to leave the classroom. Diana and Barbara are among them, they take worried glances at us before leaving the classroom, the latter showing much more worry than the former.

Their golems marked with satisfying scores, but ours are not even done yet. In fact, when all the students had theirs scored we've barely just finished the basic shape. Thankfully, the professor permits the other students to leave while she waits here patiently for us to finish ours, giving us leniency after hearing our pleas about the 'unfortunate accident' that lead to this.

"Okay, I'll give you 10 minutes. You two better finish whatever you're making when it's over".

"Yes ma'am, thank you very much ma'am!" I say, graciously thanking and bowing to the professor. Hannah however, quickly pulls my head back to focus on the golem.

"Shut up and just work!"

With time working against us, we work extra double time. Now the class is completely empty save for the two us, since earlier, after about 5 minutes, the teacher said she wanted to have an 'indefinite coffee break' when she's too bored to wait for us to finish.

We finished our golem while the teacher wasn't around. The two of us back away from our work, both of us breath in bated breathes and both our hands are dirty from the clay work.

We look to our creation and see…

"It's freaking ugly!" Hannah slumps down to the floor and cries at the sight of the abomination in front of us—a hybrid of a red panda and a cat.

It might sound not bad in paper, like a centaur, but here the size proportion of the two are different that it makes the cat's body slim while the upper-half of the red panda too fat. The imbalance in weight makes it wobble even on the slightest movement.

"Oh god what have we done?" I grimace and raise my wand to prepare the spell. "Let's see what it looks like if its alive first, maybe it's—"

Hannah's expression quickly turns to terror. "Wait, don't—"

But she's too late, the spell had been weaved and life now seeps into the abomination. Its first movement was, similar to my first golem, from its chest, or rather, its chests. _They_ rise and fall when it breathes. Apparently we've given it two pairs of lungs, one on the red panda's upper half body and the other on the cat's lower half body.

It begins to move. Its head careens sideways and its mouth gape open, revealing broken set teeth and long, hanging tongue. And it reveals inside, throat black as death, and its eyes are naught but an abyss of despair.

The creature suddenly wheezes, sounding sick and as if on the verge of death, and begins to wails and scream, kicking and flailing its arms around as it curses its own existence. And we lose the colour of our skin.

Even worse, the golem starts to wail like a dying man. "Why~"

Without warning, the abomination dashes forward, its limp appendages flailing madly in the wind as it runs in our direction. It leaps from the edge of the table and would've pounced on the still frozen Hannah if it wasn't for the pot I have in hand.

I caught the golem in the middle of its jump with, ironically, a clay pot, and shut it tight without a second thought.

"It definitely inherited the cat's hostility!" I exclaim.

Hannah snaps out of her shock and finally says. "W-we can't hand that to the teacher!"

I can only imagine what damage it would do if unsupervised. I feel a chill running the back of my spine at the thought of that. I ask Hannah, "What, you're afraid this thing will maul her to death?"

"Worse", Hannah swallows and turns to the golem slowly. "We'll get terrible grades".

The golem pushes against the pot, nearly making me lose hold of it.

"Leave it here then? Put some weight on the lid and, like, let it sit here for the teacher to see?" I suggest.

"I'll go get some duct tapes"

We try our best to seal the pot shut as best as we can with duct tapes. Along the way, I suggested putting a few holes in it for a breathing vent for the golem, but Hannah immediately shot down the idea, telling me that golems doesn't actually need air in a not so nice way. When we're done, the pot is fully sealed from top to bottom with duct tapes and above it. Books are used to weight the lid so it'll have no chance of escaping.

We both anxiously sit and watch, wondering if it's enough. The muffled screams and harmless pushes from within the pot tell us that it's enough.

"That's done". I breathe out a sigh of relief. I look to the clock and realize it's been 15 minutes and we didn't even notice. "Gosh, what a waste of time".

15 minutes passed, and peculiarly the teacher hadn't returned.

"No thanks to you", Hannah narrows her eyes at me. She stands up, straightens her back, and takes a deep breath to calm herself. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have other things I wanted to do today".

"But what about the score?" I ask as I take out a piece of paper. "We made this together, remember? Shouldn't we split our scores on it?"

Without a word or eye contact, Hannah takes the paper and a pen from my hands. She writes on it quickly and later sticks it to the pot. Without another word or look to me, she leaves the room.

I begin to leave as well but I stop when I hear the pot moving against the wooden table. I linger on the doorway as I stare at the pot, waiting and wondering if I'm hearing things. Further waiting confirms there's no movement and I'm just overthinking things.

Sure of the pot's security, I leave the classroom for good for my own room.

"But wait! I think I forgot something", I exclaim to no one in particular, as I return to the classroom without warning.

I move between the tables and grab my stuffs that I left on my table, the mayhem today made me forgot completely about them. As I'm about to leave, again, I catch something at the edge of my vision that made me stop.

It's the pot, only it's upturned and that the duct tapes had been torn open. The books holding the pot still with its weight are scattered on the floor, and the pot has nothing's in it, all save for a piece of paper.

I barely took my eyes off it for seconds!

I hastily grab the paper and read, hoping to find a clue of what happened. Written on it is an ominous message that reads: 'please divide our scores 90 to 10, sincerely, Hannah England'.

"Hannah…" I frown and narrow my eyes, but they later give way to a supressed smile.

It _is_ pretty funny.

I nearly put the paper down and focus on the real problem until I catch another thing written on the other side of the paper. This one has messy handwriting, one that doesn't look like Hannah's at all.

It says: 'by the time you finish reading this, you'll already be…'

My thumb covers the last bit of word, so I slowly move it to see…

"Deaf…. I'll already be deaf?" I reread the statement trying to wonder if I read this wrong or the writing is the one that's wrong.

But something made a shadow appear from behind me, and I feel a presence there. I turn around just in time to see the golem, now mid-air, lunging and aiming a kitchen knife at me.

"WHAT?!"

The golem thrusts its knife down towards me and I react as best I can. I open my book to catch the knife like a shield. The thrust was stronger than I expected, and it punctures through the book's spine and only stop mere inches from my eye.

"OH MY GOD!"

Luckily, the knife is stuck within the book once I close it shut. The golem futilely tries to wrest its knife free as it's trapped between the book's thick pages. Seeing this opportunity, I twist the book around and wrest the knife out of the golem's grasp. The golem loses its hold on the stuck knife and is thrown across the room.

I grab my wand in preparation to apprehend the golem, but as I round the tables to where I last saw it land, I'm surprised to see it no longer there. I poke my head out the classroom and saw the golem's shrinking figure running away from me down the hallway. It shows no sign of turning back.

My breathing was held and now released. I lean on the door frame and look to the book in my hand, the knife still sandwiched between its pages. The back of the book is hard leather, and the pages before it are plentiful, yet the knife penetrated so deeply it nearly poked my eye out.

What just happened? What is going on? My golem was dangerous, but this thing actually tried to kill me with a knife! A golem just tried to kill me and it's currently running away. I've no idea what caused it such hostility, but I don't want to wait to find out.

With this grim thought in mind, I exit the classroom and start to follow the golem.

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 **Author's Exit: It's pretty hard writing about Hannah since there's little material to work with, I look forward to your feedbacks on whether she's OOC or you just don't like to see her ever because she's a big bully :3**

 **Disregard that emoji I equally despise it.**


	4. Attack of the Killer Golem part 2

**Author's Entrance: Heads up, this chapter and the one before takes inspiration directly from the Little Witch Academia manga, the one written by Teri Terio, not Sato Keisuke. Since the former of the manga isn't as well known as the latter, I'll give a rundown to what happened there as to not make readers confused:**

 **In golem making class, Akko kept the golem she made despite being instructed not to. Akko grows fond of the golem and they become quite close, Akko even taught her golem to write. Eventually the golem grows in size and since golems takes up the creator's magic to run, Akko starts to run out of magic real quick.**

 **Also, I'll be using some POV changes in this chapter, do tell if they're good or not, or that a third person POV is actually better than the usual, thanks.**

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Hannah England had been restless. She's been pacing around the quiet courtyard since she arrived here and hasn't stopped since. Her fingers are intertwined and she chews her lip as she's consumed deep in thought.

A generous amount of cloud decorates the blue sky, shielding us from the bright sun, and the wind is a cool breeze. Just today, professor Badcock collected our due homework that's been plaguing many students' mind, and the school cafeteria served apple pies alongside a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the usual special desert for Wednesdays. Perhaps for anyone else, everything today and before feels normal, but that's not what Hannah and I feel. For one, she feels this is an extraordinary day, an extraordinarily bad day.

I sit on the grass not far from her but far enough to not be near her. She'd been furious with me for so long and not for unfounded reasons at all. This whole thing is practically my fault, after all. She'd calmed down a bit today, if that's even the proper way to say it. Today her anger is more like replaced by anxiety instead of diminishing entirely.

"Hmmmh, why is Diana taking so long?" Hannah groans and I stop counting the clouds and look to her. I may risk waking the tiger again but feel the need to truthfully point something out.

"This _is_ the consequence of not going to the headmistress's office with her…"

"Don't give me that right now" Hannah groans again and leans her back on the wall. She cranes her head up and stares at sky, lost in whatever thoughts Hannah usually has when under such stressful situation.

She stays like this for a good minute, silent and still, and I realize how incredibly peaceful it is when she closes her mouth and stays still.

"I know I asked Diana not to, but I'm still worried the teachers will start asking questions and she'll be cornered to tell them the truth, that it's partially my fault", Hannah says, stressing the last part.

"If you're so scared about it, why didn't you go with her?"

"And make myself apparent as the one responsible for that monster?" Hannah returns the question.

"You could've just brought Barbara with you, you know? Make the teachers confused, 'which witch's which?'"

It's too grim a day for Hannah to share my humour, if even she does on normal occasions. She frowns at me and says. "That's not going to work".

"Are you sure you're not being paranoid?"

"Is it that wrong to be paranoid about this?" Hannah returns my question again. "A murderous golem is out somewhere in the school and I'm sort of responsible for it! Just imagine what that will do to my family's name".

"You're not the only one who made it, you know? What about my family?" I point this out, and its almost instantly shot down by the upset girl.

"No one cares about yours, Franklin".

I'm taken aback by her response. At this point I should've gotten used to her sharp remarks, but this one takes the cake for how uncalled for it is.

However, Hannah's expression unusually softens right after she says that, preventing me from confronting her.

Unusually, the firm-voiced girl pauses. She loses her tense expression for a moment and asks, "Unless… you're from somewhere important?"

It doesn't sound like it, but I believe Hannah is asking whether I came from an important line of witches and wizards. Despite everything, it's not hard to believe she's asking this question. To be a student here must be a great privilege, gained through individual skill and or parental connection, I suppose she thinks I'm here by virtue of one of the two or both.

Nonetheless, I'm quite surprised by this question, more so to the fact that this is the first time I've ever received since I stepped into this school. At first I'd expected I'd get this sort of question almost immediately but I'd been proven wrong, and unexpectedly, Hannah, out of all people I've made acquaintances with, is the first to ask me this weighty question.

The question came unexpected and from someone I'm not comfortable with yet no less, so it's only natural I don't give Hannah any straight answer.

I answer, "No, you're right, mine's irrelevant and so is my family compared to yours".

I turn away and not explain further, my answer must've come off as unsatisfactory or short because Hannah says nothing as well. Soon enough, I could feel the awkwardness this conversation is reeling into by the prolonged silence between the two of us.

So for that reason and the fact that I hate overly serious conversations, especially with someone I don't know really well, I add, "…whoever they are".

My bait is a success. It catches Hannah completely off guard and pulls her away from her silence into a flurry of words, "Whoever they are?! I'll have you know that the England household consists of a proud line of pureblooded witches. We've many accomplishments such as the famed…"

Pureblooded! Saw that coming from a mile away.

Lost in thought, I realize I didn't listen to any of her lengthy family stories. I only realize she's done when she clears her throat and at me expectantly.

"I've literally never heard of them".

Hannah scoffs, "Then that's your problem, not mine. Really, if my family's name isn't on the line, I would've left this whole responsibility for your hands only".

I sigh, "Yes, yes. You don't need to repeat that part again".

The rest of our conversation is very one-sided and is filled with Hannah's arguments as to why I, as any other self-respecting wizard, should know the primacy of the England household in British witchcraft society. Thankfully, not a minute later, I spot Diana walking into the courtyard, her arrival putting a stop to the endless stream of England family history Hannah is spouting.

Hannah immediately runs to her friend with hopeful a look in her eyes. She anxiously asks, "So, how's it?"

"I've talked to the headmistress", Diana responds coolly, a stark contrast to her friend. "She was understanding and didn't ask too much about who's behind the golem's creation".

Hannah releases her long held breath and I saw a brief smile gracing Diana's lips at her friend's relieve. Diana then adds, "You're lucky there was no Miss Finnelan around. I'm quite sure things would've taken different turns if she were".

Diana turns to me and says, "I've talked with the headmistress. On my request, she's made an announcement of the golem's disappearance but not so much on its violent tendencies, only that it should be avoided, a good decision to not raise panic".

"Ah, that's really helpful", I say.

"I've also asked her to make a special announcement directed only to the staffs and teachers about the golem and its tendency of violence and asked that any who sees it to report immediately and act accordingly".

"That's very kind of you".

"I've also had the security staff on alert with neutralizing equipment in case they're needed. And I've also asked to double the patrols, in effect as we speak".

"Robust".

"And for further safety measures, I made the headmistress encourage students this afternoon to stay indoors".

With that, Diana finally ends her report and I sort of just stare at her and say, "Oh you're done? Thank god. Okay, umm, what was that thing you're talking about again, the patrol?"

Diana nods. "Yes, double patrol is in effect. I'm sure they have everything under control, so you two can rest easy today, let them handle the rest. As for me, I'll stay vigilant and join the school patrol".

I break into a relieved smile at her generous suggestion. "Thank you, I can't imagine myself going—"

"I'm going with you, Diana!" Hannah interrupts me before I could even finish.

"And why would you want that?" Diana asks.

"I just feel like I want to have the golem secured as fast as possible, and I'm sort of responsible for it, you know?"

This one surprises me. No matter how much Hannah kept saying I'm the one at fault, she still feels that she has responsibility for the golem as well. At first I'm quite impressed of this sense of responsibility she has, but then I remember this is a rare side of her that only appears when her family's name is at stake.

"It'll be quite the trouble for you. Not to mention the danger nature of the golem".

Hannah chews on her lip and pauses, she realizes the danger she's putting herself in. A conundrum of sense against responsibility, this could be the moment to discover whether Hannah is the type to be responsible even if it's inconvenient.

I never come to know this, however, as Diana suggests out of the blue, "Or, I might approve of your request if you decide to bring Jericho with you".

"What?!" Hannah and I cry at the same time.

But Diana is already enjoying her own idea too much. She puts a finger to her chin and nods. "Yes, yes. Now that I think about it, he's the only one that has faced the golem, so his experience will put us in an advantage".

Diana turns to Hannah and I respectively, both of us still stunned silent, and continues, "And I just remembered this: since golems use its creator's magic to run, if you two concentrate hard enough, you could trace your magic that's left in the golem. You two could be living compasses in our patrol on top of being the only ones that could dispel the golem. Objections?"

I couldn't make any objection; it's honestly a very sound idea. Nevertheless, a sound idea doesn't automatically translate to an idea I'd like to go through.

Hannah couldn't make any objection of her own either. She stays silent and the only thing indicating her feeling about this is her perpetually frozen, shocked face. I put good money on that she's regretting her request.

Diana nods and concludes, "Very good. Tonight, let the established patrol fulfil their roles first. Rest well, because tomorrow will be yours".

—

It's been two days since Diana brilliantly suggested her idea. Ever since then, we always functioned as walking-talking compasses, two compasses that keeps stepping over each other's feet as we bear through the long and boring patrols.

Hannah is lucky to have Barbara on the team. The black haired girl, similarly coming from a pureblooded family (as Hannah also boasted to me not many hours ago), had joined the patrol the moment she knew Hannah was going to, and she'd done a great job keeping the activity bearable for Hannah ever since.

On my side however, Diana's the only person that I could call my friend in the team, but she's sort of boring as a person. It's not that she's particularly boring. It's just difficult to find common ground between us with our vast distance in status.

During the patrols, we'd consistently done as Diana suggested: track our magical signature within the golem. It's an effective method that's not new and often used by golem masters to find theirs, but ours is a special case. To track a mixed magic signature requires cooperation between the two owners—between the two compasses—failure of one compass means failure of both. So when our search never bear any fruit, it's only natural that one of the compasses thought it's the other compass's fault and she would occasionally blame him for messing up.

"Maybe if you concentrate hard enough like me you won't mess everything up!" the compass named Hannah England scowls at me for the third time this night.

I lift my hands up in defence and open my mouth, but something occurs to me that it makes me stop. My eyes drift away, and I'm completely side-tracked from the devil in front of me as I'm lost in my own thoughts.

Slightly unsure of myself, my next words come off as abrupt not just for Hannah but for me as well. "Someone's hiding it"

Diana and Barbara, who'd long grown accustomed of me and Hannah's back and forth arguments and had long learnt to ignore them, are suddenly interested in our conversation. They react differently however, with Barbara openly showing less faith in my abrupt suggestion and Diana reserving her own opinion.

Barbara frowns and says, "Why would someone hide a monster? You're not trying to distract her and shift the blame, are you?"

And Diana asks, "What makes you say this, Jericho?"

I'm suddenly asked to elaborate what was just a wild stray thought. It took a bit of mental warm ups and clearing throats for me to finally start explaining. "I'm just thinking it's the only plausible explanation to all our failures. We have Hannah and me in the search team but we can never find our golem, and no, I don't believe Hannah and I hadn't tried hard enough; we both want nothing but to find the golem as quick as possible and just be done with it. Now let's imagine what I said is true and we've tracked the golem true but somehow never found it, its arguable that's because the golem had been stealthily keeping watch on our movements and move accordingly every time we got too close to finding it, but that would require it to be within close distance for it to observe our movements—I'm sure either Hannah or I will easily notice if it's that close. The only way it could read our movement without being within observing distance is that something or someone else is keeping an eye on us in its place…"

My eyes had trailed off during the explanation, I look up from my lengthy explanation and I'm surprised to find the wide-eyed stares I receive from Hannah and Barbara. The unintentional spotlight I gave myself made me uncomfortable so I fidget in my place, shrug, and dismissively add, "…I think. I don't know. Why are you all listening to me?"

Diana's expression has been calm and reserved since the beginning, I couldn't tell if she gave me the chance to explain myself out of agreement or mere politeness, but now she's deep in my way of thinking and surprises me when she shows a nod and agrees, "For someone to watch over us and move the golem accordingly, that sounds possible".

"But, _we are_ talking about the same golem here, right?" Barbara asks.

Barbara's yet to be convinced by my argument, I notice her uncertain gaze directed towards me, so I respond, "In retrospect, the golem's overwhelming violence at our first encounter convinced me of its danger, but since it's just a one-time incident, I wasn't really sure of its violent pattern; whether it's truly violent or its attack on me was just a one-time violence born out of misunderstanding, which now opens up a new possibility: its docile and that convinced someone to keep and take care of it".

A shiver runs down Hannah's spine, she shows no attempt to hide it. Her previous vexation towards me is now replaced with anxiousness at the mention of the golem and my first encounter with it, and I can't blame her for that. Hannah had spent these past few days on edge, fearing the golem's looming threat. The golem's existence and its possible threat of violence haven't been healthy for Hannah state of mind at all. It'd made her incredibly jumpy for one. I remember that one time in potion making class when I walked up behind her and greeted her only to receive a witch's version of a chemical attack.

Good thing what she had in her hands was nothing harmful, just an extract of Promethean Death Pepper…

"You're saying… someone in this school had the bright idea to keep that golem and protect it?" Hannah questions hesitantly. With the violent picture she has of the golem since the beginning, it's hard for her mind to reconcile with my new suggestion.

I nod and say, "I told you, right? It's possible that it's not as violent as I'd expected, which means that the idea of keeping it isn't so… dim".

"Still sounds dim to me". Barbara comments bitterly.

"Well, I guess this is the consequence of not announcing that the missing golem's was potentially dangerous—It'd convinced someone it's safe to keep it", I say and give a sidelong glance towards Diana.

"We couldn't afford the panic", Diana states firmly and simply, but she then shows a pause after that before continuing, "…Though now that this new possibility is revealed, I could see some fault in that decision".

Barbara then asks, "Okay, so like, we decided that someone might be keeping the golem, now what?"

—

For the last 30 minutes, Hannah and I had been moving from one dorm room to another, asking questions from one team to the next.

"You sure there's no one you know that's acting suspicious?" Hannah asks our current interviewee, her arms folded uneasily.

The girl we're asking rubs her eyes lazily and yawns as she speaks. "No one, unless if you count that new boy. I'm sure he's suspicious, if you know what I mean?" she finishes with an attempt at a mischievous wink that falls short since both her eyes are almost closed asleep.

"Um, excuse me, I'm right here?" I say and step closer into her view.

The girl just glances at me lazily and replies, "Oh, hi".

We're split into two teams: Diana with Barbara went up to the third floor dormitory while Hannah and I went here to the second floor dormitory. I originally asked Diana to go with me, but she told me she needed someone to be the 'decent' one on each team, whatever that means.

Though I soon learn what she meant after we finish this room's questioning and run into someone familiar.

"I don't know what you mean, Hannah" Lotte nervously says as her back is pushed into the wall. Hannah didn't need to do anything physical to achieve this, her mere presence was enough to make the Finn withdraw to the corner.

The unlucky Finn was found passing us by in the corridor, and Hannah didn't waste this golden opportunity to squeeze out information from one of the three girls in this school she loves to bug so much.

"Be serious", Hannah scowls at Lotte. She puts her hands on her hips and continues, "A golem is on the loose, and the last thing we need is someone not giving us information we need".

"I-I'm serious!" Lotte, having found the energy to be indignant, cries. But the delicate girl withdraws herself soon after that and her next words come out with much less confidence than her last. "But, well, there's one thing. If you're wondering about Akko's golems…"

I interrupt her, "Ah, no, Lotte, you're mistaken. We're talking about the golem me and Han—"

Hannah's elbows me hard on my stomach, sending the air out of my lungs before I could even finish my sentence. While I writhe on the floor clutching my abdomen, Hannah quickly continues in my vice. She takes a different turn in tone and her words are now laced with benign choices of words and accompanied with a sweet smile that screams lies. "Jerry made a golem and forgot to dispel it! So please, be a good girl and help your friend by answering will you?"

Lotte fidgets uneasily, overwhelmed by the odd change of behaviours her bizarre interrogators are adopting. "O-oh, I don't know anything about other golems…"

"Really, you really look like you do, you know?"

After a moment of fighting against herself, Lotte realizes she's just delaying the inevitable. She sighs softly and opens her mouth to speak, but what comes out is no less than whispers.

Masking her impatience well, Hannah in closer and says, "What's that—?"

And Lotte suddenly raises her voice, loud enough and so out of her character that it surprises both me and Hannah.

"She didn't dispel her golem and kept it in our room!"

The confession is definitely surprising and came surprisingly, but it's not what we're looking for. After the initial shock is gone, Hannah uncovers her ears, frowns and says, "I didn't ask about her, you know?"

However interesting this new information is, what Hannah needs now is information about _our_ golem, not the one belonging to the girl Hannah would normally love to exploit any of her faults.

But Lotte yet again interrupts Hannah, "T-there's something else!"

The usually shy girl's raised voice catches both of us off guard the second time. Lotte pauses and plays with her fingers as she mulls over her next words, and when she resumes, she returns to her often withdrawn and gentle voice. "…Akko found another golem, and I just don't like that one compared to her own. It's just so weird and I… I don't know, I just hate it".

Hannah and I exchange looks. We both hate to know where this is going.

"How… does it have, like, does it look like a mixture of two animals?" I ask Lotte.

Lotte lifts her eyes up to meet mine, they show confusion and genuine surprise. "Y–yes, how did you know?"

—

Lotte's knocks on the door twice but receives no answer, her brows twist into a frown and she mutters, "I know Akko and Sucy are in there…"

It's only after the fourth knock does she receive a response. The unusually confident voice that belongs to Akko calls out from inside, now not so up to her reputation, "W-who's there?"

"Akko it's me, Lotte", the Finn says, she presses her hand on the doorknob and continues, "Look, Akko, there's someone here that wants to see you".

We hear the sound of rushed footsteps from inside and some loud, indiscernible bickering, and we're more than surprised when what comes next isn't from Akko.

"Akko isn't here", Sucy's very annoyed voice calls out from inside.

Having enough of the red team's shenanigans, Hannah groans and, much to the alarm of both Lotte and I, takes out her wand and cries. "Enough of this, if you two won't open the door, I swear you'll have to buy a new one".

"I assure you she's not going to pay for it!" I add loudly.

Fearing the wellbeing of her roommates (or her door, I'll never know which), Lotte's knocks on the door becomes faster. "Akko, please open up, you know this is what's good for you!"

Our reply once again comes not from Akko, but not from Sucy either, the deafening sound of splintering woods and the cracking of stones are our reply. It came from inside the room, loud enough that the entire dormitory could hear it.

The three of us force our way inside to find what's happened and found that the wall that should've divided the indoor and the outdoor is no more. The night sky and the dark forest are visible through what's formerly been the room's wall, now only a pile of broken stones and splintered wood on the floor. Needless to say our jaws dropped.

"Wh-what happened, Akko, Sucy?!" Lotte cries.

We found no sign of Akko anywhere in the room, we only find Sucy, laying on her bed with her nose buried in a book, indifferent to the existence of the newly formed hole in the wall. She only offers us a quick glance as we enter the room.

"She got her golems and bolted out the room", she tells us with a level voice, as alarming as her passivity to the whole situation, and gestures towards the hole in the wall.

The three of us look down through the newly formed hole and find a large figure made of clay running to the direction of the forest, a certain brown haired girl clinging tightly onto its back.

"Th-that's it, she does have our golem!" I cry.

I immediately slap my mouth shut at the breech of word, but I'm dead surprised that Hannah is too preoccupied by her own surprise to notice it.

The commotion must've been so loud, not long after, we hear rushed footsteps coming from the corridor and find Diana and Barbara rushing into the room.

"What's going on here?" Diana asks.

"It's Akko! She ran away with our golem to the forest!" I tell her.

"And she has one of her own, she got two golems!" Hannah exclaims.

A clay pot rolls across the floor and stops at my feet. I initially ignored it, but no longer once I note what it contains. I follow where it rolled from and found in the corner of the room similar pots, all scattered and some broken on the floor, the last bits of their contents spilled onto the wooden floor.

"You have Akko to thank for that" Sucy remarks once she catches where my gaze went. "Left her golems alone and they ate the soil from my potted plants".

Diana says, "That might explain the damage it's done. With clay this many, I suppose at least one of them would be bigger than the average human. A golem that big is surely strong enough to do this damage".

Both Hannah and Barbara's eyes widen and their jaws drop. The latter cries, "Wait, wait, wait, you're saying the golems made that hole?!"

"So it would seem", Diana responds with a level voice. Contrasting anyone else in the room (excluding Sucy), Diana's fine features lack any fear, they show determination.

Diana continues to approach the hole on the wall and looks outside, to the forest where we last saw the golem and its owner ran into. "This explains it. Akko had shown less magic lately. Remember earlier today when she fails to light a simple lantern with magic?

"Golems runs on its creator's magic. Her golem must've grown in size at that time and consumed more and more of her magic", I finish Diana's sentence, receiving a nod from her.

"That's true", Lotte says. "It's all because of the golem that her magic had been depleted, but she won't listen".

"Why am I not surprised?" Diana remarks, and then she goes silent. Diana's calculating vigilant eyes scan the vast forest before her, and no doubt she's currently running scenarios in her head and thinking the next course of action. Even her silence isn't inactivity.

Diana turns to me and breaks her silence, saying, "It's not only strong. If it's as intelligent as you said it is, it's currently finding a place to hide in the woods as we speak".

"I'm sure it is", I nod grimly. I remember well how it's able to use a tool to try to kill me and retreats once it's disarmed and the odds of winning are low.

I look to the emptied pot near my feet, I briefly inspect it alongside the ones smashed and scattered on the corner of the room and say, "Judging from the size of the pots, its size must've reached past 250 centimetres, and its weight must be past two adult males. With this size in mind, it must've collapsed this wall without breaking a sweat. And golems, while heavy, aren't as slow as they seem to be when running. It could reach the edge of the forest before sunrise at most, so I don't think it's a good idea to—"

"We have to follow it", Diana announces, and all of us aside from Sucy collectively lose our minds.

"What?!" the four of us exclaim at the same time.

It's this kind of moment do I feel like I should get a pair of glasses regardless of my perfectly healthy vision just so I can fix it in place.

Regaining my composure after hearing Diana's ridiculous suggestion isn't easy. I start carefully slowly, "If I need to paraphrase my _entire_ paragraph… it would be: let's not try to get near the golem that's now capable of breaking every bone in your body in a single swing of its arms. I don't think we should follow it, like at all".

"Yeah, listen to him, Diana!" Barbara squeezes Diana's arm, and Hannah soon follows suit.

"I-I'm fine with it, really! Let's just forget about the golem for now!" she says with a series of quick nods.

I'm genuinely grateful that Hannah has forgotten all concepts of family dignity and name in the face of danger. I can't evade the feeling of pride at witnessing the workings of natural selection within the girl; the cowards are the best to survive, after all!

"That thing's on the loose, we have to follow it", Diana reaffirms, alarmingly unmoved by our persuasions. She continues to run somewhere in the room, grabs a broom sitting in the corner, and returns.

"I'll be borrowing this", she says as she passes by Lotte and Sucy.

"Be our guests", the indifferent Sucy says, nose still buried in her book but keenly observing Diana's actions.

"Are you really going after the golem?" Lotte worriedly calls to Diana.

Diana doesn't spare a moment to even look at the girl when she says, "That thing could pose a threat. Nothing will stop it if no one does".

"But Akko's golem isn't as dangerous as you might think!"

This made Diana stop. She finally turns to Lotte and says, "I'm sure she and you might be fond of the golem, but it's dangerous and so should be eradicated regardless of what anyone thinks. I believe you're smart enough to know what should've happened to the golem, Lotte".

"Then talk! At least talk to Akko about her golem. Her magic's been suffering because of it!"

That's the third time she's surprised us with her raised voice. Lotte's unusual boldness isn't lost to Diana. After a thoughtful pause, she nods and agrees.

"I'll see what I can do about it".

Diana mounts her broom then turns to me and Hannah and says, "I'll follow the golem, be on alert for my return. In case I cannot permanently disable it, I want you two to be the ones who dispel it".

Without another word, Diana takes her broom into the air, leaving the safety of the school and beginning a dangerous pursuit while the rest of us are left with nothing but dust to bite.

Barbara runs to the edge of the room. With no way to stop her, Barbara could only watch as Diana flies away further and further towards the forest.

She turns to her friend and cries, "Hannah, she really left! What are we going to do?"

But no reply came from Hannah. I see her standing still and silent beside me, her eyes fixated on Diana's figure that shrinks at the distance with each passing second, and each passing second she's reminded of her reason to be here tonight. She chews on her lip, too deep in her hesitant thoughts to try and hide her anxiousness.

Hannah had earlier shown no intention to follow the golem, but she definitely seems hesitant about it now and I know it's her sense of responsibility kicking back in and making her have second thoughts.

This is Hannah's problem after all, not Diana's. Diana always does have the tendency to take care of so many things, often other people's problems that she shouldn't be bothered to be bothered with too. And now, Hannah is starting to realize that this time, Diana is taking on a problem that really shouldn't be hers to deal with, or at least not alone.

Her decision is set, so Hannah steels herself and does one more important thing she needs to do before realizing it.

"WHAT?! You want me to go with you?!" I cry my lungs out as Hannah shoves a broom to my hands.

"Hey, this is also your fault to begin with! Don't you dare tell me you're chickening out of this now!" she yells at me.

Hannah grabs her own broom and pauses. She is sure of her decision, but being sure of it and being brave enough for it are two very different things. She needs a silent moment to herself, to think things through carefully and prepare herself for the upcoming danger, hence her irritation when she found me pulling her sleeve and interrupting her mini-meditation.

"What now?" she grumbles impatiently, her thick brows tighten to a knot.

"Give me a ride there!" I ask her, and before she could even reply, I add. "No, Hannah England, I cannot ride a broom yet. So please, do you want me to go with you or do you want to stay and make fun of me?"

Hannah's expression quickly contorts into that of confusion, surprise, and utmost objection. "Hell?!" she cries.

Hannah is definitely against the idea but it comes in a package: she has to give me a ride if she wants me to follow her, and this of course creates a major conundrum for her. It's easy to know so from the funny expressions she's making, and even more so from her attempts at excuses that only come out as gibberish until she finally groans in defeat.

"Fiiine, just don't slow me down or I'll drop you!"

"Thank you!" I say and instinctively bow to Hannah which only serves to annoy her even further.

"Good grief, another Akko". Sucy's voice makes me raise my head. The previously passive girl had taken it upon herself to get off from bed and take the broom Hannah had given to me from my hands.

"Since you won't be needing this, I guess you two need help catching up on what happened".

—

Akko is distraught, she'd let her guard down for just one minute and her golems are now gone, left her on the edge of the forest near a cliff. Here, the cold, howling night wind comes unfiltered, biting at her exposed skin. She turns to the forest's edge and asks herself if she's brave enough to go in there and search for her golems.

Before going, she tries calling out to her golems, but it attracts attention from someone she hadn't intended.

"There you are, you troublesome girl".

Diana's calm voice surprises Akko, she turns around to find the blonde witch descending her broom towards her. The blue moonlight behind Diana complements her blonde hair magnificently, complementing her already wonderful looks well.

"D-Diana, what are you doing here?"

"Searching for what you have", Diana says as she dismounts. "Lotte told me everything. Truly, who in the right mind would keep such dangerous creatures?"

"Lemmy didn't panic like that on his own you know?"

Diana raises a brow, amused at the unexpected fight this girl is putting up. She says, "I might have different opinion on your second golem, but even if this… Lemmy isn't physically dangerous it's still a danger to you in some other way".

Akko fidgets uneasily in her place. Her averted eyes and pause indicates that she knows what Diana is referring to.

"I know, Sucy already told me that…" she says, her last words reduced to mutters. For a moment, Diana studies the Japanese witch's unusually sullen face.

"You really were intending to keep them" Diana guesses, and Akko's silence is enough to confirm it.

Diana had thought that this whole situation to be a misunderstanding, that once Akko is confronted with the truth, she would realize her errors and make the right decision with her golems. But once again, the Japanese witch exceeds her expectations.

Diana scoffs. "As if you're already in good terms with your grades, you intend to keep something that would further interfere with your progress. And here I thought you're serious with your dreams".

Akko's eyes meet Diana's again, now devoid of gloom and is replaced by anger. "What?!"

But Diana is a complete contrast to her, as she always has been. Her calm and coolly calculating gaze contrasts Akko's passionate eyes. "You came all this way to Luna Nova academy from Japan, isn't that right? And did you not say that you long to become a magical star, the next Chariot?"

Diana's words felt heavy on Akko's heart, they came like a wakeup call for her—her golems had occupied her mind so much lately that she's forgotten about that. From the lack of response, Diana could easily see that Akko found truth in her words, but this doesn't deter Diana from continuing.

"Yet you're so easily distracted, first by keeping a golem that could interfere with your magic, which isn't stable to begin with, and second by sheltering another dangerous golem that could harm others and jeopardize your status as a student here in this school".

Akko couldn't make a response. As much as she hated to admit it, she knows Diana is right at this. She could only stare at her feet as Diana ceaselessly belittles her.

"I don't like idiots, but the fact that you came alone far from your home to pursue this education, I thought that it must've taken some willpower. Perhaps I overestimated you".

Akko suddenly does something that Diana yet again didn't expect. She childishly sticks her tongue at Diana and taunts, "That ice-cream head of yours is so full of itself, huh? You came here all on your own just to say that?"

This serves to budge Diana's patience only slightly—the tip of the ice-cream-berg is still far from tipping over. At Akko's childish antics, Diana silently sighs and says, "This isn't about me right now—"

"I know! You don't have to say it!" Akko, little to Diana's surprise, interjects. But just as quick as it came, her temper dies out, and what comes after are much less to Akko's usual confidence.

"Lemmy and Shammy… they're my golems. I know what everyone says, I heard all of you talk about them, but I don't believe they're supposed to just go like you all wanted".

Diana isn't at all moved by Akko's words. In her eyes, Akko's sentiments for her golem are unfounded and nonsensical, childish even. Diana frowns and says, "Are they really that important to you that you're willing to risk your dream?"

Once again, Akko couldn't answer, she can't even lift her chin up. She sniffles quietly and wipes a tear from her eye.

Diana quietly huffs and continues, "It seems there's no cure for you. If this is what you want, you're better to just throw away your dreams and go back to your country".

Akko would've argued, but the sound of rustling leaves and heavy footsteps made her stop. She turns to find one of her golems, the tall and powerful Lemmy, stepping out of the treelines, on its hands are fresh fruits. Lemmy notices Diana's presence, but curiously doesn't seem fazed at all.

"Lemmy!" Akko calls the golem's name and it comes to her. Diana doesn't fail to note its surprising obedience, but she dutifully keeps her guard up still.

Akko, being only as tall as the golem's waist, has to look up when she's close to Lemmy. She asks the golem, "Where have you been? You made me so worried!"

Upon closer inspection, Diana notices the second figure perched atop the golem's broad shoulder. It's a much smaller golem, no bigger than a cat and a red panda. Diana had only heard its appearance from Jerry's descriptions, but she's sure this is what he meant. After all, there're only a small number of things in this world as horrid as that abomination.

Diana's notes the abomination's size, how it's slightly bigger than Jerry's description. It must've consumed Sucy's clay as she claimed it did, but apparently in much smaller amount than this Lemmy did.

Diana doesn't try to do anything rash. Instead, she waits the interaction out, observing it as it goes.

Akko turns to Diana, she'd eaten the fruits Lemmy brought, and now with her mouth stuffed with apples says, "Shee, Dhiana? Nhothing vhiolent bout them. Look, they even brought us fruits!"

Though Diana found the girl's claims are correct so far, it's not enough to convince her to change her mind and let her guard down.

Diana notices Akko's gaze trailing off to somewhere behind her, she follows this and notices the approaching figures of two broom riders, far off in the distant night sky.

"That must be them", Diana remarks, not taking her eyes off the broom riders, "For them, I doubt they'll have the same opinion on the second golem, Akko".

Akko swallows and says indignantly, "He has a name, you know? It's Shammy!"

"Whatever you think you know of it doesn't matter. In Lemmy's case, you're its creator, which means you have the right to do what you want with it however self-destructive your choice is, but in Shammy's case, it's up to its creators to decide, not you".

Akko points a thumb to her chest and exclaims, "No way, I won't let anyone hurt them! You'll have to go through me first!"

Diana sighs and shakes her head. "You and your stupid games again".

The sound of something falling behind Akko made her stop her argument, she turns around and finds Lemmy dropping all his fruits to the ground and retreating from her in a hasty manner.

Akko instinctively reaches out to the golem. "Lemmy? What's wrong?"

She receives no response. Lemmy continues retreating and begins to tremble. Diana notices its clenched fists and its agitated look as it casts its face away, refusing to look at Akko.

But Akko doesn't seem to notice these signs, or she simply doesn't care. She keeps approaching her golem, but every step forward, Lemmy would reply with a step back. "Lemmy, is something wrong?" Akko would ask over and over again.

Diana doesn't understand what's going on with the golem, but its unusual behaviour sends her into alert. Her hand hovers over her wand, she's alerted but careful enough not to make any sudden moves that would alarm anyone.

But Lemmy suddenly looks up and its eyes meet Diana's. She freezes in place, and realizes it spots her hand that hovers near her wand.

Much to Diana's dread, she sees anger flashing in the golem's lifeless eyes. Without warning, Lemmy throws its hands to the air and lets out an ear-splitting roar, surprising Akko into a retreat. The sudden change made Diana forget all notions of subtlety and she readies her wand for combat, noticing this, Akko races to her side.

"What are you doing, Diana? You're scaring him!"

Diana hastily grabs Akko by her arm and pulls her into a retreat. In their retreat, Diana's eyes never leave the golem, fearing that if she even blinks, the golem would've gone on the offense and catch her off guard.

Among the two girls, only Diana has her wand readied. Diana's very much certain Lemmy is now hostile, which is why she's is beyond irritated to find Akko still thinking otherwise. The Japanese witch places herself in front of Diana and blocks her view of the golem, her back turned towards it, a further show of her trust towards it.

This situation is all too familiar for the Cavendish witch.

"Not this again, Akko! Can't you see it's disobeying you?!"

"You just scared it! He wouldn't be angry if you didn't scare it!"

"Tell it to stop, then!" Diana cries, her patience running to an end. "Tell it to keep itself together, see if it still obeys you".

At the challenge, Akko shows signs of hesitation. She bites her lip and turns to her golem with uncertain eyes.

"Stop, Lemmy, what are you doing?!" she pleas, but the golem shows no indication of obeying.

Without warning, Lemmy charges at the girls. The ground trembles with each heavy footstep and its raised fists are ready to strike them down with ease. With Akko in front of her, Diana couldn't get a clear shot of the golem, and it would be too late for the two to act if Akko remains indignant for but one more second.

But before any of them could do anything, two bolts of magic, one of fire and another of lightning, rains down towards the charging golem.

The lightning strikes the golem straight on its head, leaving a large crack and knocking it out of balance and momentum, and the fire coils and shapes into a burning rope that binds the golem by its legs. Lemmy immediately loses its balance and falls to its side, its monstrous weight is enough to make the ground tremble as it lands.

The two witches look up to find three figures above them, Sucy, Hannah, and Jericho, the last two have their wands out and aimed at where the golem stood.

"D-Diana, tell them to stop!" Akko begs, but Diana chooses not to do anything.

To its attacker's dismay, Lemmy struggles through its bounds only momentarily. It fights through the burning pain and rips off the fiery ropes with its bear hands like they're rubber bands. It then pushes itself up and begins its counterattack, using a large rock to thwart its airborne attackers.

The rock flies towards Hannah and Jerry's broom, she pulls it out of the way only by a hair's breadth. The added weight made Hannah's manoeuvring sloppy, and she found difficulty in returning her broom back to balance. Even from down here, Akko and Diana could hear the two's screams as they spin around the air uncontrollably.

The golem throws another rock, this time towards Sucy, yet she easily evades it. The golem's persistent attacks have convinced Sucy that it's now indeed hostile, so she finally takes out her wand as well.

But the volley of rocks makes it impossible for the three airborne witches to be on the offense, they're locked on an endless loop of evading and failing to stay still long enough to aim their wands. Diana realizes this and tries her own luck, only to have a rock flying at her direction the second she trains her wand at the golem.

A quick protective barrier was thankfully enough to tank the blow, but she doubts she can go on the offence if this keeps up. She'll have to find another way to fight.

Akko stands passively like a spectator, a player out on the bench while her teammates fight. She understands that her golem is dangerous now, she doesn't need anyone to tell her that anymore nor to see any longer to know, but understanding and accepting are two very different things.

For whatever reason, Lemmy is now violent. The normally sweet and docile Lemmy is now hurtling rocks at her friends, and any second she spends in indecisiveness is more risk that her friends might get injured or worse. She has to do what's right for their sake.

Akko's hand hovers near her wand, the last traces of her doubt lingering only briefly, before she forces herself to take it and run ahead.

Lemmy notices Akko's approach and shifts its attention towards the new attacker. It raises its fist and swings it down hard, but the girl evades the attack with surprising ease. Akko follows up by leaping towards the golem.

"Lemmy, you dummy!" she cries her lungs out and places the tip of her wand at the golem's exposed forehead.

The effect is immediate. Lemmy stops in its track, like a toy that runs out of battery, as its very source of life vanishes out its body. With the very magic that binds its body together disappearing, the golem's form is immediately undone. Its once lifeless features now seems even more lifeless still, and its once powerful clay flesh now turns soft as sand, sliding off its body like a desert sand. The rampant golem is now defeated. Akko now stands in front of what's left of its body, a lifeless patch of clay and sand on grey forest soil.

Akko immediately feels a heavy weight lifted off her chest. She'd thought this as psychological; the common feeling she gets when she finally resolves something that's been plaguing her heart, but she soon realizes that the weight on her chest was more literal than figurative: her magic is returning to her from the golem and she could feel it physically restoring her energy.

This, Akko could be grateful, but for everything else, how could she feel anything but sorrow? The girl stands still, her watery eyes fixed on the remains of the being that brought so many happy moments for her in just so little days.

She sniffles quietly, "Why… Lemmy".

Diana stands at watch nearby, unmoving and silent. She shows no sign of trying to counsel the distraught girl, but this doesn't mean Diana doesn't care at all for Akko, it's that when her mind drifts to the last piece of the puzzle, thoughts of anything else becomes irrelevant.

Diana knew for a fact that for a golem to go against its master's will is assured destruction, so for Lemmy, a golem that had shown intelligence and obedience in the short moment she's seen and heard of it, to suddenly go on a seemingly unprovoked rampage… could it be?

She couldn't think of any other possible explanation.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of something landing behind her. She turns just in time to see Hannah and Jerry rushing towards her. The two stops behind her, wands still raised, trying to show courage despite the fact they're hiding behind her.

"D-Did you do it, Diana, did you kill the golem?" Hannah asks.

"I-Is it dead?" Jerry asks as well.

Diana takes a quiet moment to observe the remains of the golem and its former owner.

"It definitely is", Diana calmly says. Her answer gives the two some respite, but her next words immediately breaks it. "But your business isn't finished yet".

"What are you saying?" Hannah frantically asks. "You just said that thing's dead!"

"Except that one's not your golem", Sucy, who'd just dismounted from her broom, explains, immediately earning wide eyed stares from the two. "That's Akko's".

The wizard-witch pair tenses up and returns to full alert. Jericho retreats even further and his eyes frantically scan the area, his wand readied but his hold of it trembling.

"W-well then, where is it?!" he challenges, but its apparent he won't make any brave moves.

Hannah as well hides herself further behind Diana. She squeezes Diana's waist and buries her face on her back. "I-Is it close? Is it close, Diana?!"

Diana doesn't need to answer their questions, Akko does it for her.

"Y-You're okay!"

The four found Akko kneeling in front of Lemmy's remains, reaching for something. With the girl covering it, it took a moment for them to notice the presence of a second golem sitting in the middle of the mound of sand, this one unharmed by Akko's dispel simply because it's not hers to begin with.

Jericho and Hannah both tenses up at the sight of the dreadful golem, the former further retreats while the latter hides further behind Diana.

But Jerry soon realizes something was off. For one, he doesn't have a knife flying at his face immediately. He's sure the golem notices his and Hannah's presence, but it just sits there quietly. The second thing he notices is the golem's sluggish movements. It's always been a bad construct, with terrible joints smoothness and cracked ligaments, courtesy to his teamwork with Hannah, but this right now is even more terrible. He notices that his movements are slow, sluggish, and seemingly painful for the golem.

"What's wrong with it?" Hannah asks, only briefly taking her eyes off the golem and towards Jericho. "I thought you said it's violent!"

In his stead, Akko answers, "It was violent, but also in pain. That's why I took care of it, and it got less violent along the way".

Akko reaches out for the golem. It recoils for a moment as Akko begins to caress its stiff cheek. At the feel of familiarity, the golem soon eases.

Diana had been quietly observing and running numbers. The moment she breaks her silence, all eyes turn towards her. "This explains everything. To have two persons creating one golem creates a dual source of magic within the golem, and to have those two persons not in harmonious relation would stir the golem's source of magic—it would stir its very being and disturb its source of life".

Jerry asks. "You're saying… this whole time, the reason for its violence towards me was due to its pain?"

Diana nods. "It makes sense. Golems, however intelligent they are, no, the more intelligent they are, the more likely for it to be driven by instinct, provided the kick is strong enough. It must've wanted to end its pain, and one way to do it is of course to kill its sources of magic that is you and Han—"

Hannah quickly covers Diana's mouth with her hand and interrupts her, "Yeah, yeah, Diana, we get the point!"

Diana raises a brow at the sudden interruption but drops the issue once she realizes her reason.

The golem's heavy wheezes pull their attentions again. It's clear to everyone present that the golem no longer poses a threat. It shows no resistance when Akko cradles it. The golem doesn't even have the energy to lift its head up unsupported.

Then, everyone goes quite. Everyone present knows what all this means and how it'll eventually end, but it seems no one wants to say it aloud.

The silence was uncomfortable, it bugs Sucy enough that even she wishes it gone. With her seemingly unemotional voice, Sucy says, "Well, there's only one way left to save it".

Akko looks down to the golem and her eyes start to well up for the second time tonight. "No way… him too?" she mutters, her voice choked by her tears. This normally unseen side of Akko's personality is enough to unease even the most stoic of the group.

"That's the only way out of its misery", Sucy shrugs. You'd expect her to frown or at least have a sympathetic twist to her usually monotone voice, but even in a moment such as this, she remains stoic—she looks and sounds as apathetic as ever.

Sucy's eyes widen only slightly as she's amused by an idea, she gives Jerry and Hannah a sidelong glance and adds, "Of course there's a second way, but if you step into my shoes and listened to how these two buffoons interact on our way here, you'd realize that won't happen in a million years".

Case in point, Hannah suddenly scoffs and folds her arms. "Well it's not _my_ fault this is happening in the first place after all!"

"I said I was sorry…" Jericho says.

Sucy gives Akko an expectant look, and she now understands that there's no other way.

The golem tiredly gazes at Akko's eyes as she gently lowers it to the ground. She then strokes its head, and the fond memories this golem, alongside Lemmy, brought to her made her hand linger longer than she wished for. Eventually Akko bites back her emotions and stands up to leave, refusing to watch another one of her golems to be taken away.

Among the rest, only Sucy looks at Akko as she separates herself from the group. Jerry and Hannah is too busy bickering with each other again after Sucy incited the memory, and Diana is there to ease that bickering.

Sucy almost have the thought of going after her friend and consoling her, but given her reputation in social interactions, she doubts her presence would have any good impact on the girl's mood.

"Know this, golem, there's nothing personal", Jerry says as he and Hannah stands in front of the golem, both their wands raised and trained towards it.

"Just get this over with", Hannah says with a frown, giving him an annoyed, sidelong glance.

Together they plant the tip of their wands on the golem's forehead and the effect is immediate. The golem releases its last breathe before crumbling into pieces of clay and then sand, now, joining the soil once more with its friend.

The two's magic flowed back to their bodies before the golem's sands even met the soil, and relieve, similar to Akko; both psychological and physical, washes over the two. Their breaths were held for days, and now they can rest easy knowing the golem threat had been vanquished.

Jerry twirls his wand and puts it in his belt, he was about to say a one-liner that he'd heard from a movie and had since wished to use in situations like this, but something stuck on the mound of sand takes his attention away.

He kneels down and takes it. It's a notebook. He opens it and flips through the pages. Out of curiosity, Hannah joins to take a look.

—

"Akko!"

Akko hears her friend's voice from above. Looking up, she spots Lotte and Barbara on brooms. The latter immediately flies down somewhere to join Diana and Hannah and barrage them with thousands of worry-filled questions, while the latter lands her broom near the lonely and downtrodden Akko.

"I was so worried about you!" The Finn cries as she squeezes Akko's hand. "We might still be okay, let's head back before the teachers find out!"

It amuses Akko in a nice way that, in true spirit of Lotte, Lotte's first worry is about the teachers.

Lotte eventually stops and covers her mouth once she notices the pile of sand on the ground. She turns to Akko in hopes of explanation, but she soon realizes she'd rather not have any if it means upsetting Akko any further.

Akko tenses out of surprise as she feels Lotte's hand on her shoulder, but once she sees Lotte's kind blue eyes, Akko eases up. Lotte gently squeezes Akko's shoulder and says, as gently as her voice allows her to, "It's alright, Akko. You did your best for them and that's what counts, right?"

Her blue eyes show genuine sincerity, Akko couldn't help but agree with what she said. After a second of silence, Akko manages to put up a light smile for her friend. "Yeah, I guess you're right", she says, and the Finn replies with her own.

"Akko", a voice comes in, interrupting the two's conversation. They turn to see Jericho, a very familiar notebook held on his hand, one that made Akko's heart felt like it's about to break the moment she sees it.

Akko takes the notebook from his hand and hastily flips through the pages, only to stop after just a few turns. Lotte and Jerry are both surprised when Akko's hands start to tremble and her hold on the book tightens that it threatens to tear its pages. Akko could feel a drop of tear running down her cheeks, and before long, she couldn't hold in the rest. Akko falls to the ground with tears flowing freely down her cheeks, they fall onto the open page—the one that made Akko stop—on it is a very crude drawing of two golems and Akko, and with them some badly written scribbles:

' _Magical star, Akko, Lem and Sham'._

—

Diana, Hannah, and Barbara had been waiting for Jerry for minutes. Hannah had grown impatient for the boy's terrible punctuality, she made sure to remind herself to be angry when he decides to show his face eventually. However, she's caught off guard when Jerry shows up with an unusually happy expression that she forgot to be angry.

"Sorry to keep ya waiting", Jerry says with, to Hannah's bewilderment, an easy smile.

"You're here, good", Diana says and pilots her broom up. "Now let's head back to school, shall we?"

Barbara agrees with a relieved sigh. "Yes please. I can't stand this place any more, its super cold".

Without a word, as if naturally permitted, Jericho climbs to the back of Hannah's broom. The night had been long and neither Hannah nor Jerry found it favourable to argue again on should she be the one giving him a ride or someone else.

"You sure took your time", Hannah remarks, frowning. "Any second longer and I would've let you go back walking".

"Yes, yes, my apologies, princess~", he replies, unaffected by her threat.

She kicks off and takes him towards the night sky. Diana is ahead of the three-rider group, leading them away from the cold outside and back to the comfort of home.

There was an otherwise awkward silence, at least on Hannah's side, during the flight back. Jericho hadn't said a word, but she somehow felt he didn't feel awkward on the silence. He's humming to himself, even. So she tries to break it by asking, "Why can't you fly on your own?"

It's not lost to Jerry that Hannah's question lacks her usual condescending tone, it sounds like a genuinely curious question.

His humming stops, Hannah notices Jerry pausing—she's not sure what to make of it.

"Is there any story to tell? I just haven't learned that well riding it".

That was it, his answer. It definitely felt short, or he intended it to be so. It's difficult to pick up hidden meanings behind sentences when you don't see the speaker's face directly, and that's what's happening now with him behind her.

That's weird, Hannah thought to herself. It was an otherwise peculiar mystery for Hannah; why wouldn't a wizard be able to fly a broom? She couldn't think of any ordinary reason—she never met a wizard who couldn't fly before.

A yawn escapes her mouth and she covers it. Hannah couldn't care less about these troubling thoughts now. All she wants to think of is the sweet embrace of her warm bed. She's only enough energy to ask one last question.

"And what were you doing back there, anyway? Aside from, you know, giving that girl the notebook".

Jerry doesn't answer immediately, apparent to Hannah that he's finding it hard to say what he has in mind. "Just found something interesting in it that I wanted to keep—a souvenir to remind me of this night. Good thing Akko let me have it".

"What is it?"

The boy mumbles almost indistinctly. "It's a secret".

These four had left much earlier while Akko and her friends stay for a little longer, intend on giving her golems proper places to rest, so Hannah's good guess as to why his delay was he's involved himself in some way related to that.

For Hannah, to give the golems, something ultimately inanimate, some fancy and ceremonious goodbye is foolish. So she sighs, couldn't even be bothered to care with the red team's antics anymore tonight.

"Must be something stupid then".

"Y-yeah, totally", Jericho says. He looks at the piece of paper he took that was formerly stuck on one of the notebook's pages.

' _Please divide our scores 90 to 10 per cent, sincerely, Hannah England'_ it reads.

"Something really stupid", he says, trying to suppress a laugh.

* * *

 **Author's Exit: Again, writing Hannah is difficult, so give me your feedback on whether she's OOC or how much you hate her for being a big bully :3**

 **Disregard that emoji or death.**


	5. Labyrinth of Pollux part 1

The day of the treasure hunt event has finally arrived. The usually quiet Luna Nova main tower is now packed with students. Some teachers are also here, with Professor Ursula at the centre of attention as she explains the event, going on great lengths about their details of the rules of the game.

Just as I thought she won't stop, she flicks her wand and a purple light flashes from it and the gate that leads to the labyrinth begins to unlock. The whole building shudders and dust begins to litter from the ceilings as the heavy and aged locks slide against the similarly aged gate. After a lengthy period of uncomfortable shuddering, the gates are finally fully unlocked and slide open.

To make sure the entry isn't too packed and to lessen 'unhealthy' competition during the hunt, the Professor decided queue the entry to the labyrinth. She implements intervals between groups in their entries.

"So, you're alone after all", I hear Diana's voice, it takes me out of my thoughts.

I look to her and say, devoid of any excitement, "Compensation in the form of more points per treasure, yay?"

"You'll do fine on your own, perhaps being alone means fewer burdens and more flexibility in your decisions—there won't be any arguing for you with your teammates—that ought to save some time".

I've yet to think of it that way—I've so far only seen going solo into the labyrinth as a weakness—leave it to Diana to think things as thoroughly as that.

"Or perhaps if that idea doesn't appeal to you, maybe you can informally team up with another team".

My mind and eye wander for a second. I look back to her and ask, "What's your queue, then?"

Diana says nothing and replies by showing the small piece of paper in her hand.

"That won't be possible for the two of us", she says.

That's too bad. If I were to team up with her my victory would've been guaranteed.

I scratch the back of my head, saying, "Oh well, I think I'm fine with missing Hannah's company".

From somewhere in the crowd, I could hear a distinct voice calling out. "I can freaking hear you!" I hear Hannah shout.

I close my mouth. I didn't know she would've heard that. I didn't say anything else after that, but my expression must've told enough for Diana to read my mind.

"Don't fret too much about her", Diana says. "After all, the trouble that happened between you two really set her off the wrong way".

"She should thank me, though. I thought I helped get rid of the golem?"

"You did fix the problem, one you caused in the first place".

I sigh meekly, "Even you, Diana?"

"Forgive me if I seem to take sides, but I was there since the beginning. You _are_ the one that started it all with your murderous cat golem".

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she can keep antagonizing me 24/7 ever since!"

Diana's expression eases, a part I don't often see in the Pride of Luna Nova. There's a delay to her next words, short but recognizable. She says, "Don't take it to heart. Hannah warms up slowly to new people".

I delay my next answer as well. While Diana perhaps does that because she's thinking of what to say, I'm more so on how to say it.

"Much slower to people like me, I guess", I say without looking at Diana.

The statement seems to either gone over her pretty head or she decided to ignore it, either way, Diana continues without any recognizable pause. "You two just had a rocky beginning, that's all. I'm sure that once you two know each other better, you two will be fine".

A loud static voice, one that sounds like it came from a speaker, cuts through the room, drowning Diana's voice. It's the professor's. "Party number 3 please step in front of the gate".

An uncomfortable feeling emerges in the pit of my stomach—it came before I even realize what it means. Days ago, I never thought much about the labyrinth, only so far as its information and history to prepare myself for it. But standing here, in front of the large ominous gate that leads to the place I read and heard so much about, I realize that I'll soon have the chance to experience those stories myself. It doesn't help that I've no team to back me up. In this crowded room I feel alone. As more students continue being called, one by one, I feel my confidence gradually declining.

"I'll see you later, then?" were Diana's goodbye when her team's called.

Diana steps through the gates without any hesitation, Hannah and Barbara however, walk more rigidly compared to her friend. Their backs straightened, they try to mimic Diana's confidence but they fall short. They must be trying to hide their nervousness from the crowd of onlookers.

The things they do to keep their image, I guess.

However, it's not just Hannah and Barbara that seems anxious of the adventure, just as there're those who're excited at the prospect of adventure, there're some who knows the troubles they entail. But still surprisingly, one girl in particular shows no time to think of the latter.

"You seem pretty well excited", I say to Akko. She turns to me and is practically shoving her face to mine.

"How could I not? This is the perfect moment for me to shine!"

Hello, personal space? Do you as a concept exist in this girl's head?

Beside her, Sucy smirks. "Because everything you cast ends up as lethal explosions?"

The pale witch is the oddest among all. While Akko's excitement is uncommon, it's still sensible to some extent—I can't lie that there's fun found in the treasure hunt's concept. Sucy however seems as indifferent as she's always been; no trace of worry or excitement at all in her features in this otherwise extraordinary day in school.

"It's like a bad copy of an RPG", is what she tells me when I confront her about this.

"Wonder what we'll find there…" Akko remarks dreamily, lost in her world of imagination. "I hope we run into giant monsters so I can beat it! That way I'll show my true strengths and show Diana!"

Is she bitter? Is she still bitter after what happened to the golem and Diana's part in it? Not exactly I believe. The two doesn't see eye to eye even before then, much less now after the golem incident—it was just another pebble to add to the mountain of rocks—she's just this way when it's about Diana.

Now, however annoying an excited Akko could be, I'll take it any day instead of a downtrodden Akko. Today's adventure into the labyrinth had done wonders in lifting Akko's spirits up—she'd been down ever since the whole golem shenanigans—her wholesome excitement today feels like a warm welcome.

It seems that those negative energy turned into a positive excitement in this event that's bound to have some violence in it, it will act as a place for Akko to vent out her anger and at the same time compete with Diana—I've yet to decide whether that's a good thing or not.

On the other side of things, Lotte doesn't share her friend's enthusiasm or indifference. Among them, she's the one who shows the most normal feelings.

"I'd rather we not run into anything", she says timidly. She's the sensible one as always.

"What about you? What's your team's queue?" Akko asks me, and soon the spotlight of the conversation shifts to me.

Just then I'm reminded of the façade I've been unconsciously putting up. It's grown amusing how she's yet to figure it out. I don't want to tell them about the truth right now.

"Oh, they're over there, somewhere~", I answer offhandedly. "We're at 16".

"Heeh, we're at 30", Lotte remarks. "That's still far away".

While Lotte seems relieved at the lengthy number, Akko shows the opposite. She puffs her cheeks and crosses her arms and turns her back towards her pale teammate. "No thanks to Sucy, she's the one that drew the lottery!"

Sucy just shrugs.

"Number 13, please step in front" the professor's voice, amplified by her magic megaphone, reaches our ears.

After that, I leave the three, preferring to spend my minutes before departure alone to think, not before Akko says her goodbye, of course.

"I'll return with a Vorpal sword!" she said with a grin.

Her enthusiasm is infectious, it almost makes my worry of being terribly maimed or mortally wounded by a labyrinth monster in a poor twist of fate disappear completely.

"How're you holding up?"

Michelle's voice takes me out of my thoughts, one consisting of plans that, the longer I think about it, the less confident I become. I turn and found her already beside me, looking to the open gates and the witches going through it just as I was.

"Whatever my answer, I'm pretty sure it'll be different once I step through that gate".

"Scared?" she asks, she proceeds without waiting as if she knew my answer already. "You could be worse, you could be trying to put up a tough guy façade and not let the fear take you".

I wince at that remark. All honesty, that idea did cross my mind at least once.

At one glance, she seems to know just exactly what's in my mind. Michelle says, "Just remember: don't overwhelm yourself with sophisticated spells…"

"The simplest, mundane spells work best", I complete her sentence in remembrance. Michelle nods in approval.

"This might sound counterintuitive, but in combat, to think less is more; the more you burden your mind with lots of things—tactics, complex spells and combinations—the more indecisive your moves will be. The less you have on your mind, the more streamlined your way of thinking will be, and consequently, your actions. You're alone this time, which means you can't risk being slow; you won't have anyone to back you up. You have to be on your wits all the time and be decisive always".

I pause. My eyes search the ground as I take all her advices in. When I finally turn to Michelle and open my mouth, Professor Ursula's voice interrupts me, "Number 15, please step forward and into the labyrinth".

"Timing. Just a moment too late and I wouldn't be able to remind you all this". Michelle straightens her back and says, "Better get going then, before all the good treasures are taken".

"I'd rather be more worried on getting myself out alive first than the treasures", I tell Michelle warily.

When I turn to Michelle, I already found her walking away. She waves a hand back and says offhandedly, "Don't look for me in the crowd when you're out, I'm not even supposed to be here right now".

I raise a brow. "So you're here just to see me go?"

"I'm just here to remind you that if you don't come back with any winning treasures then you shouldn't come back at all".

I chuckle at that, and I definitely can't lie that now I'm in better spirit. The instant switch from being the best teacher in the world to the worst in a matter of seconds is what makes Michelle, Michelle.

Holding my piece of paper, I turn around and we go our separate ways.

—

The corridors are cold, dark, and unpleasant. The only thing that guides me is the faint light from my torch. I'd imagine it would look odd for a wizard to not rely on his magic but a torch to light his way, but I know why I chose to do this: I'm never confident in my reserve of magic, so to waste it for a spell that a simple alternative could overcome would be foolish. And perhaps the feeling of holding something so firm and sure would settle my mind better in this dark place, more than to rely on something I don't find reliable at all to begin with. Or perhaps, this wizard chooses this item just for the sake of its novelty; he always liked reading stories about adventures, and he always wanted to pretend to be one and to explore dungeons while holding an old torch to guide his way.

Along the way, I found a corridor that ends with a large wooden double door. The walk there is a climb, with numerous stairs leading up to the door. The intricate carvings on the door indicate that this has to be of some importance.

It was locked, but a simple spell, not of opening locks but breaking them, was sufficient. By the time I'm done, the doors locks are but a heap of red hot metal on the cold cobblestone floor.

I know I'd get a lecture from Michelle if she were to see me doing this, she'd tell me that I need to master the lock picking spell already and not blow locks up just to open them.

I reach to push the door but hear something from the other side, it made me stop to hear what it is.

It's muffled, but it's a human voice. I'm just as surprised hearing it as I am when someone opens the door from the other side.

"You can just knock, you know?"

I stop and look at the person in front of me from head to toe.

She is covered in armour, literally covered from head to toe with medieval armour pieces: iron breastplates, leather breeches, and a rusted full helm to top it off. The only way I knew it's a she is from her feminine, if not muffled voice. On her right hand is a halberd that stands taller than her figure.

"Can I help you?" she asks, her impatient voice muffled by the full helm.

"Um… who are you?"

"I'm a guard!" she says, as if it's the most obvious thing.

The impatient guardswoman has the door opened only slightly. I couldn't see anything past her. She further lowers her halberd closer into my view, emphasizing her statement.

"A guard of what, exactly?"

"Of the adventurer's guild, of course!" she says, again, as if it's very obvious.

"Adventurer's guild?" I ask. It's at that time I realize there're voices, human voices, coming from inside the room and that we're not alone.

The guard finally steps aside, revealing a bizarre sight I didn't expect to find in a place as decrepit as this labyrinth. Inside is a wide room with tall ceilings supported by stone pillars, well-lit by numerous sconces adorning the cobblestone walls and candles on the old expensive wooden furniture. Even more bizarre still is the heap of treasures gathered at the centre of the room, surrounded by similarly armed and armoured guards. They're outnumbered, however, by the students in the room, reaching 30 in numbers. Some of them are currently discussing about the treasures near them.

"No… this one won't reach 10 points", one girl mumbles to herself as she inspects a glowing necklace.

"Do I look good with this?" Another asks, brandishing a copper sword.

"Don't get too attached", her friend remarks, "You're not supposed to keep the treasure, even if that thing, I bet, only strikes 8 points".

The rest of the students are peculiarly on a queue that ends in a wooden table, situated behind it is a black haired girl with thick black glasses, she wears a nametag that spells 'Gaëlle'. The queuing witches all carry treasures, while Gaëlle busily writes into a thick ledger, a quill and ink besides it and a wooden box filled with treasure on the other. She would occasionally, only very occasionally look up from her writing. Most of the times, she'd just converse with her patrons without looking up. Two girls, fully dressed in uniform medieval armour, stands on guard besides Gaëlle. All of these guards must've found those armours in abundance somewhere in the labyrinth.

"10 points for that, but I heard they're easy to find at level 2, so I don't know if the price will change", she says, eyes fixed on her ledger as another queuing student brings her treasure forward.

I noticed the queue, but I didn't realize that all this time I've been standing in it. I just realized that I may look like a patron to Gaëlle since as soon as the last one is finished, she calls for the next and I'm pushed forward by the patrons behind me.

"Um… what's going on?"

Gaëlle looks up to me for a brief moment. "Cataloguing, exchanging, cooperating. Do you have items you'd like to add into the pile?"

I blink numerous times. I look to the pile of treasures on the box next to her and notice it's been increasing. "I thought this is about treasure hunting? Why are they placing their treasures here?"

"As I said, we're trying to smooth our treasure hunting experience by… let's say, providing aid".

Gaëlle puts her quill aside and pauses her writing to address me properly. She entwines her hands together and leans on the table, giving off an aura of professionalism.

"Me and my teammates are aware that some girls are... inept in combat magic, so we offer this form of cooperation: we find teams who lack in combat ability to protect them in their treasure hunt, with the price that the protector will gain a good portion of whatever treasures they found, which means that the bigger amount of protector the client wishes to have, the more protection they'll receive at the expense that they'll have to split more treasures. And in the end, both the protector and the protected will have to pay us an amount of tax in return".

"This is a guild, a legitimate adventurer's guild!" I exclaim, surprising the two armed guards beside the girl. "You're offering hired blades to students now?"

"We also have spears, bows, and wands", Gaëlle says without humour. She fixes her glasses. "No one loses anything. The treasure divide is just, as far as we're concerned. Everyone wins".

This is incredible. Not half an hour has passed and they've successfully established a profitable and promising business down in a seemingly deserted underground labyrinth.

Gaëlle clears her throat and leans on the desk by her elbows. She continues, "Now I don't know your abilities, but if you're interested in participating as an adventurer, you can go to the mission board right over there. You can grab what you want and best for your capacity and head out and make some profits".

I look to where the girl is gesturing and see the board on the end of the room with various papers pinned to them, and in them, written various job requests and dungeon raid invitations.

Sucy's mistaken—this isn't like an RPG, this _is_ an RPG.

I feel sort of excited now, more than I was at the beginning of this event. Now that my safety is somewhat assured, I've a chance to actually enjoy this experience and not fret over my safety 24/7.

Knowing I've wasted a lot of time for Gaëlle and the witches waiting in line, I thank her and leave her to take a look at the mission board.

I skip the job requests. I'm not confident enough to be a protector to a group who can't protect themselves and look to the list of protectors instead, hoping to find a promising group that can help me in my RPG adventure. Treasure splitting be dashed, the idea of roaming an unknown labyrinth now with teammates makes my worries disappear and replaced with the excitement of comradeship and glory. That excitement is doubled at the thought that I'd find Diana's name on the board—she's one of the little amount of people I've known so far in this school, and add the fact that she's well versed with magic, she seems like a dream teammate to have. Unfortunately, further skimming shows no sign of her or her friends' names there. I soon notice that I couldn't find Akko's name either.

It's quite a shame—I don't really want to team up with strangers. If it's up to this, I'd have to pick one that seems most promising.

One poster in particular catches my attention, it reads: 'party of protectors looking for someone to protect: we've got the brains, the brawns, and the skills!'

Interested, I grab the paper and pull it off the wall. As soon as I did, a train horn attached on top of the board whistles. Acting as an alarm, it attracts the attention of those I've summoned. Almost immediately, I hear rushed footsteps coming from the crowd of students and what comes out is unexpected.

It's a short little girl, carrying a large backpack that seems just too big for her figure, and on her hands is what appears to be a crossbow, though heavily modified with modules and machineries that it no longer looks conventional. She has long, navy blue hair that reaches down to her waist and is tied into a ponytail with a big red ribbon. She has a lightly tanned skin and her eyes are teal in colour and they're gleaming with excitement. Her sash colour is green. She stops right in front of me and stands in perfect attention, curiously not saying a word and just stares at me.

"Wait, Cons, goddammit! It's hard to run after you in a crowd, man!" a voice calls out somewhere in the crowd. I turn to the source and see another girl, this one much taller, coming out of the crowd.

The first thing I notice when I see this girl is her playful green eyes. That's saying something about her considering her wild, red hair is what I suppose most people would notice first. Compared to the previous girl, her inventory is quite simple, consisting only of a long sword and its scabbard strapped securely on her waist by a similar green sash.

Behind her another girl follows. She's slightly shorter than the last. She has long pink hair that reaches as far as her waist and tied into two braids with red ribbons. She has a chubby physique, and carries with her a snack bag that she occasionally reaches into and eats. Her inventory is as simple as the last one—only consisting of a pair of leather gauntlets. I'm beginning to believe that among the three, the short one is the most enthusiastic of this adventuring thing.

The red haired girl's eyes meet mine and I immediately tense up as she throws a friendly smile my way.

I know that smile. It's the smile extroverts has when they see a new person and they intend to, as their personality suggest them, be friendly with them as fast as possible. Stay away, please.

Thankfully, the red haired girl's attempt is halted when the short girl holds up her hands and gives her a grumpy look. The former returns the expression with a sigh.

"Is this really necessary, Constanze?"

The girl named Constanze seems quite insistent and only replies with a series of eager nods.

The red haired girl quickly steps back in line and fumbles over a piece of paper. She reads it, "Umm… we of the Warriors of the Tripartite Alliance welcome you to our humble cooperation. With this, we promise to take you, traveller, to your destination and goal with honesty and bravery, salute!"

And like so, the girls salute me. The short one is the most enthusiastic in this as she's the quickest and most perfect in forming her salute, followed closely by the pink haired one, while the red haired one is quite overwhelmed with this formality and is fumbling with her salute.

The red haired girl scratches the back of her head. "Sorry man, looks like Constanze's pretty excited with this whole adventuring guild thing".

I say, "Whatever you three are doing, please, don't stop".

"A customer who's not freaked out by this", the red haired girl whistles. "I don't know if I should be happy or worried".

The red haired girl shakes her head and her posture soon eases. "Anyway, I guess a proper introduction is in order. I'm Amanda O'Neill, the secret fifth knight of Gwyn, lord of Cinder, at your service".

"Knight?"

"It's my assigned class", the red haired girl, Amanda, answers.

"Class", I repeat in apprehension and run a hand across my face, still not grasping this weird timeline I'm in. I look to the rest and ask, "And you two? What are you two supposed to be?"

Despite addressing the short one first, it's curiously the pink haired one that first responds. "Monk Jasminka of the northern Norgan mountains, school of the Eye of Heaven", she says, and true to her character, she does a light bow.

"Wait, are Jasminka and Amanda your real names or just a role play?"

"Both", Amanda and Jasminka answer at the same time, the latter serving it up with a smile.

"Moving on", Amanda announces and she pats the short one's back, as if she's a merchant displaying her wares. She says, "We have engineer Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger of Altdorf, of the Empire of Men—she may not look like much, but she'll be our carry".

At her introduction, Constanze's basically jumping up and down in excitement. Her oversized bag's contents clinking at her every movement.

That's such a creative role play name, got to be honest.

"I take it you're into RPGs?" I ask Constanze but curiously gain a response from Amanda instead.

"You've no idea".

Amanda leans close to me and whispers. "She wanted to be a bard but we didn't allow her, she's pretty sensitive about it and is still pretty upset when anyone mentions it so don't mention it anywhere near her".

"Not a bard, got it".

Next, the three girls looks at me in expectance, and I soon realize what this means. So I straighten my back and say, "Jericho Franklin Jr., apprentice wizard of the Witch King's domain of the eastern lake kingdom of Morea, at your service".

I bow in dignity, concluding my introduction.

The party is formed: the knight, the monk, the engineer, and the wizard. Together, they begin their journey through the perilous labyrinth. With the world against them, they can only succeed in believing in each other as they set out to acquire gold, glory, and perhaps a little bit of gospel.

—

It's been days, no, weeks, months. Aah, I've no idea anymore.

The unending darkness of the catacombs makes it impossible to tell time.

Days felt like seconds, weeks felt like days, and months felt like weeks.

I feel like my sanity is slipping.

Our party goes on for what felt like forever without good respite. Food is running low, scarce ever since we lost them in an ambush of kobolds after we crossed, cursed thrice be that bridge's name, Wet Crossing. Our camping equipment was also lost in another raid, and any day after that we spent resting on the cold and hard floors of the catacombs. It's not often I'd hear sobbing in the middle of the night as my teammates try to force themselves to sleep but I couldn't blame them—I too feel like sobbing every night.

Firewood is running low. Our light is dimming, both figuratively and literally.

Eventually we arrive in a vast hallway, too vast for any flame made by man to see. Old chandeliers hang on the vast ceilings above, waiting for a flame that will never come again. There are unnumbered corridors along the hall's walls, narrow and dark. It would be unwise to tread through them, as each seems too identical to the previous. And then, just when we thought all was quiet, it came! A terrible monster, a towering being of no flesh, its body hollow and naught of nothing but bones. It has no eyes, but the abyss like darkness of where it should've been pierces our very beings. Thick metal armour, dented and rusted, with arrows stuck to it, protects its torso, and upon its skeletal hands it carries a blade of iron, rusted and aged by all the blood it's tasted during its life and death.

We panicked—none of us are prepared enough to face this monstrosity, let alone the legions of lesser skeletons that follow it.

Our party ran and ran, but despair is faster than our feet and we soon found ourselves surrounded by death. An army of sword and spear—skeletons have arisen from their graves and stop our retreat. We will go no further.

I shout to my teammates, _'get out, push forth and let me distract them!'_ and they obeyed, not a single trace of hesitation as they try their best to plow through the enemies to escape.

I stay, holding my wand in front of me and preparing to give my all. Though fear grips my heart, I cannot fail my friends, and that thought alone is enough to make me stand tall. Closing my eyes, I start the incantations. _"Iacta, Inflamatare, Sagitarii…"_

"Leeeeeeeroooooooooy!"

The next thing I know, our knight throws herself into the hordes of skeletons and gives them a throughout beating with her sword. Following closely behind her is our monk. She rushes in and puts a huge dent on the towering skeleton's breastplate with her bare hands. The recreation of Asterix and Obelix's defence against Roman legionnaires almost makes me not notice the recreation of Doom 1993 somewhere behind me. Our engineer, armed with her repeater crossbow, fires an unrelenting barrage at the skeletons that surrounds our rear side. The bolts fly true to their marks, shredding their rusted armour and aged bones, decimating the bulk of the skeletal forces in a single volley.

"Take that, and that!" our knight cries as it goes on to beat the fallen skeletons—now laying on the ground at her mercy—to bone meal with her sword. Monk, keeping up with the spirit, puts another good damage on the towering skeleton's kneecaps with her _own_ kneecaps, breaking the iron knee guard its wearing like its IKEA, while our engineer keeps emptying her mags at the legions of skeletons on our rear.

Meanwhile, I take in a long, deep breath and shouts. "STOP RUINING MY IMMERSION!"

A cohort of skeletal spearmen suddenly comes out of their hiding. They flank our position and have us surrounded. With my party overwhelmed at their ends, it's come to me to handle this one.

I prepare some spells I've known to be effective in ambush situations such as this. I just need to focus and remember what my deceased master told me when it comes to ambushes, I have to…

"For the Lord of Cinder!" Amanda screams and throws herself to the ambushing skeletons. Shields splintered, spears broken, and skeleton heads roll as the skeleton spearmen are felled by her mighty blade.

"Goddammit Amanda!" I shout at her. "Stop roleplaying and breaking my immersion!"

"I can't hear you over the sound of my victory!"

I throw my wand on the floor and scream, "God dammit!"

Meanwhile, an explosion goes off in another part of the room. I see Constanze rushing into the blazing fray, an aftermath of one of her explosives, and finish off the disoriented skeletons. Without a care Constanze continues her rampage, shooting down so many mobs of enemies it would put Doomguy to shame.

I run a hand through my face, "Constanze, we're supposed to hunt treasures, not putting monsters into extinction!"

I hear a click coming out of Constanze's repeater crossbow and realize that it has run out of bolts. Despite not being on the receiving end, I felt a momentary relief at the respite from slaughter.

Only to see it immediately resumed, when she pulls out another weapon.

The deafening noise of gunshots fills my ears, I see Constanze obliterating the skeletons with her new weapon: a submachine gun, she took down a cohort of skeletons with just one mag. Their armours pierced like butter and their shields reduced to splinters against the almighty power of 21st century armament.

"This is a medieval fantasy! Guns do not exist, Constanze!"

A small figure of metal walks up to me, one of Constanze's many unorthodox inventions I was introduced to not late in the adventure. The Stanbot looks up to me and begins to produce static sounds—like a radio searching for its frequency—before settling for one audible. It says, "The future is now, old man".

In another corner of the fight, Jasminka had made a humongous ball from the fallen skeletons and rolls it towards one of the narrow corridors surrounding the room. The skeletons in there have no escape and they're all crushed by the skeleton snowball.

I desperately try to find a way I could contribute, but every time one stray skeletal survivor comes close to my range, it's either hacked to pieces by Amanda's sword, blown into smithereens by Constanze's rounds, or pummelled into dust by Jasminka's bare fists before I could even pronounce my spells.

Seeing their imminent defeat, the skeletons retreat through the many corridors connecting to this wide room. The towering skeleton, its torso busted and knees weak, are among those in retreat.

Constanze's Stanbot walks up beside me, again, a static voice winds until it stops to one audible one. It says, in a particularly thick Japanese accent, "My lord, a glorious victory will soon be yours!"

"They're running away", I sigh with relieve. "At least we can stop the killing now and move on".

I notice Constanze crouching next to me, a new large weapon in hand, rocket launcher of some sort taller than her body. She has the weapon trained at the fleeting form of the towering skeleton and its skeleton deserters.

"If you care about my mental wellbeing, please don't fire that thing".

And Constanze fires away regardless. The click of the trigger is the last thing I hear before a projectile flies out of the weapon. It makes a whistling noise as it sails through the air, leaving a faint trail of tracer-like green light.

It's peaceful for a moment—the moment of quiet peace situated between after firing the weapon and waiting for it to hit its target.

The next thing I see is the light first, bright and blinding from the explosion. Second, the deafening sound the blast creates, the echo chamber the room is makes it a thousand times worse. The whole room shudders at the explosion. I could feel it in my core. After the light's settled, I can no longer see the retreating skeletons, the towering one included, they're all disintegrated to kingdom come, murdered by the blast.

The battle is concluded. I slump down on the floor, feeling exhausted more than anyone despite being the least participating member in the fight. The girls surround and raise their weapons high to the air, cheering all the way.

Meanwhile, I lay on the ground, whimpering, "My immersion…"

—

The door to the guild room opens and we're greeted by the same guard from earlier. "Welcome!" she greets, voice muffled by her helmet. "Did you have a great time adventuring?"

Among the four, only I don't wear the same satisfied smile returning here. "Awful. We found a secret door after we cleared a room and these three decided to open it by force instead of solving the puzzle like any sane person would do".

"You took too long solving it!" Amanda whines.

I glare at her and make a pinching gesture with my fingers. "This close! This was how close I am to solving it until you decided to hack at the door".

"It was still too long!"

"It was literally only 10 seconds into the puzzle did you run out of patience".

"It was fun breaking it down in one hit, though", Jasminka beams as she rubs her right hand, the very same hand that caved in breastplates and collapsed the firm door.

Annoyed, I turn to Jasminka but immediately find my words stop on my throat. Try as I might, I can't be upset with this one—she's too much of a positive bundle of bread to be mad at—she somewhat reminds me of Lotte in that she's very pleasantly mannered, kind, and is generally the kind of person you can't be upset with in the first place. Amanda is very lucky that she's part of her team else I would've lost my temper way back.

"That's… yeah, that was nice, Jasminka", I tell the girl, which only serves to make her smile wider. At this point, I admit that the last vestiges of my temper have died down with the smile.

"I mean, it's not like we didn't get good loot after that", Amanda adds.

I look to my share of loot: a couple of gold coins and goblets alongside a peculiar loot that doesn't shine like the others; a traditional sling, a weapon of old before the bow and arrow took dominion of the ancient battlefields. Amanda mentioned this could worth some points on the merit that it's, and I'm quoting, 'super ancient and is actually a weapon of legend', but before I hear the same from Gaëlle, I won't have high expectations of this one.

I say, "If I find out you're lying about this thing…"

"Dude, trust me, that thing's a legendary weapon!" Amanda says, unable to hide her laughter.

A commotion from inside the room puts a stop to our conversation. The guild is noisy on its own right, but even from here, we knew immediately that something was up. We enter and find Gaëlle standing atop a stool in the centre of the room, seemingly trying to settle a commotion, her two bodyguards standing nearby on guard, outnumbered by the loud crowd of agitated adventurers that surrounds them.

"I lost my treasure!"

"Where's the sword?"

"My precious! Where's my precious?!"

Gaëlle tries to maintain order by convincing the distraught adventurers that she and the guards have the situation under control, but the lack of clear explanation from her slowly turns the adventurers into doubt. One by one, they begin to suspect foul play.

"Someone must've taken it!" one student cries and the message spreads like a ripple, more and more people found the idea to be appealing, what began as murmurs and silent nods has now turned to loud accusations.

The commotion was quick to turn into an inquisition, and the outnumbered guards have no choice but to stand by and watch as the students go around checking each other's inventory for the stolen goods. It's inevitable that we get dragged into this.

"Hey! We just got here!" Amanda indignantly says, smacking away the armoured hand of a guard.

"Very well", the armoured person agrees. We were relieved to know we won't be part of this confusion, but the guard then gestures towards me and says, to our great surprises. "But he wasn't".

I point to myself. "Me? I've been away as well!"

"That's most preposterous!" the guard exclaims. "We've spotted you in the room since the beginning!"

Amanda comes into my defence. Remaining indignant, she says, "What are you talking about? He was with us. We're in the same party!"

Unfortunate for us, some adventurers have caught wind of our conversation and decide to jump in.

"Y-yeah! I notice he's stayed in the room the longest!"

"He didn't leave at all!"

"Stayed in the room he did, didn't make me suspicious at first but he does now!"

The rest of the adventurers joins in as well, and with them, more and more claims that _I_ have stayed the longest in this room. A mob was quick to form around me and my party, at this rate, I'm sure things will get out of hand real soon.

"We went on a job together, I can vouch for him. We're in the same party!" Amanda exclaims, but the crowd ignores her.

Our party is cornered, and the mob starts to raise their weapons in protest, some swords, some bows, and some torches.

It was in this dire moment do Gaëlle show up, she pushes through to crowd and places herself between us and them, held on her hands is a piece of paper. "I have document that proves his participation in the party. They checked out half an hour ago".

Gaëlle had expected the document to satisfyingly deny the mob's claims, but she's proven to be wrong. The mob's already too invested in my guilt and they won't let a simple piece of paper deter their thirst for justice.

"It could be faked!"

"Maybe he sneaked back in, who knows? I mean, the guards here aren't the brightest!" another says, and one of the guards close to her immediately clutches her chest. She looks hurt.

Gaëlle herself realizes violence will break out if this continues, and if the document, something she thought would've eased the tension, fails to subdue the mob, she has no idea what to do next.

"Throw him off a cliff!" one adventurer suggests with a cry.

"Hang him by the gallows!" another follows.

"Cut his fingers off!" the next says, brandishing a large scimitar.

"Hang him by the gallows then throw him off a cliff, then go down there, grab him again, and cut off his fingers". One witch dressed as a pirate proposes, she gives me a quick glance before adding, "And give him a haircut while you're at it, he looks like a girl".

"Enough, enough!" Gaëlle cries and attention returns to her once again. "It seems that the best course of action now is to secure all suspects for further questioning, but they'll be innocent until proven guilty!" she cries, emphasizing the last point heavily.

The mob cheers, they're at least content with the current conclusion. I sink further behind my party, but they can no longer provide any safety for me. The guards come with their handcuffs and keys to the cell where I'll reside while waiting for my final verdict.

"We'll vouch for you", Amanda says patting my back, and Jasminka gives me a too enthusiastic thumbs up.

—

Who would've known that I'd end up in a jail cell? One day I'm exploring dungeons and hunting treasures, and the next I'm a convicted thief, left to rot in a jail cell on the back end of a god forsaken guild room. I feel like locked away from the world, outcast and ignored by those who imprisoned me, whose busy commotions still echo through these old walls. Life goes on for them, I guess. They're content now that I'm here, isolated in this dark, humid, and uncomfortable cell.

It's been days, and the room's unbearable condition makes it last like years. The beds are made of uneven stones, rats chitter and patter along the room freely, water leaks from the mossy ceilings, its drops are continuous and rhythmic, and I feel it costs me my sanity to hear them for too long.

As the cold water drips onto my forehead, I start to question my entire life, and how it leads me to this moment. Perhaps, a change in one decision or another in my life might've saved me from this miserable fate. Aaah…. How I miss the taste of warm bread and good milk, I could just taste it already… dancing in my—

"Hey, you!" a voice from the corner of the room beckons, and I bite my tongue at the sudden interruption of my narration. I turn to find a girl, a natural brunette wearing a dirty blond wig. She sits on an old wooden bench, her wrists and ankles red, indicating she'd been tied up some moments ago.

"You're finally awake. You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that imperial ambush, same as us and that thief over there", she says and gestures to the corner across me.

I found the thief sitting on another stone bed across me, she says, "Damn you Stormcloaks, Skyrim was fine until you came along, empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I would've stolen that horse and be on my way to Hammerfell".

The thief then looks at me. "You there, you and i shouldn't be here—it's the Stormcloaks the empire wants".

The blonde wigged girl shakes her head. "We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief",

An armoured guard, presumably the one I've seen before (it's hard to tell, they're terribly identical in attire), shouts from outside the cell. "Shut up back there!"

At this exchange, I look beside me to confirm my fear. There, a girl sits, wearing an expensive if not dirty noble clothing, seemingly ancient Nordic. And her most prominent accessory: the white cloth that gags her mouth.

I turn to the guard and grab the iron bars. "Just end me".

Hearing this, the girl with the wig takes it off and breaks her character. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. That's not the spirit, why are you so sour?"

I breathe out an exasperated sigh. "If you haven't noticed, I'm in a cell. _We're_ , in a cell".

"I chose to be in the cell", the thief says with a carefree shrug, her muffled friend nods and speaks indiscernibly through the gag.

I was about to ask why but something soon crosses my mind, and I'm almost afraid to ask. "Did you all… deliberately make yourselves suspicious just so you can get in this cell and role play this?"

They all nod at me.

I slam my face on the cold stone wall. "Kill me".

* * *

 **Attention, All Epic Gamers: OMG, the author is such a nerd, Gamers really should rise up. So many references in this chapter, can you name all of them? The first five readers who guess correctly will win amazing prizes, all you need to do to receive them is put your credit card info, three digits in the back, in the review down below. You have to be quick, or else Croix will finish the dream fuel spirit and the world will be in peril!**


	6. Labyrinth of Pollux part 2

**TL note:** **Gaëlle** **is the girl Akko talked to during that animal language class in the episode Orange Submariner.**

* * *

"That's why I think it's odd. If you believe their words, apparently I stayed in the guild room since the beginning, never leaving with my party and thus making me a prime suspect".

"That _is_ weird, really grinds the ol' walnuts", the girl with the wig says. She sits cross-legged on her wooden bench, stroking her non-existent beard as she thinks my words through.

"Maybe you have a long lost twin, who somehow end up in this same school as you", the girl dressed in thief clothing says with a shrug.

The gagged girl also pitches in, she speaks her idea, but with the cloth wrapped around her mouth, it's impossible to hear it.

"What did you say?" I ask her, but it's Wigs who responds.

She shakes her head and says, "She said that your future self time travelled to the past to this moment, which is why two versions of yourself exist".

Muffles speaks again, and despite her muffle-ness, I can make out what she says this time.

"Morrowind".

"That guess sounds oddly specific, but okay", I remark and not give her idea any second thought.

"Good luck with that guess", thief eventually agrees with me. "That's as possible as a dragon attacking the school".

The girls' humouring sort of gets to me. Their ridiculous suggestions and half-serious take on my otherwise serious matter eventually makes me feel better now that I realize I could be overthinking things and all this is just a simple and silly misunderstanding and that they'll end before I knew it.

"With that being said…" Wigs' words cuts me out of my own world, and I realize I've been out of what they're conversing about these last minutes. She turns to the guard still standing outside our cell and says. "Hey, Bucket-head, bring us some food, will ya?"

The guard turns and says, "What, you think you'd find a McDonalds down in this god forsaken place?"

Wigs shrugs, "just asking".

"Is this place really that bad you'd call it that?" Thief asks.

"It sort of is", I answer, reminiscing my adventure with my party.

We spent the next minutes just arguing and bantering about mostly unnecessary stuffs, and eventually our conversation drifts into our experiences in the labyrinth so far and how they end up here. Apparently, these three are not in the same team, each has their own stories to tell: from their battles against rats, trolls, and snakes, to their diverse reasons of being thrown here that ranges from stealing sweet rolls and failing a rebellion to failed usurpations and affairs in the court. These three's backstories are diverse and unbelievable to the point that I soon suspect these are just their roleplaying stories.

Our story-telling session comes to an abrupt end when the guard suddenly hushes us down. We were confused but do as she says.

"I was getting to the good part" Wigs complains.

"You didn't hear that?" the guard asks, bewildered.

We stay silent again, trying to hear whatever the guard wants us to hear. What made us realize what she meant is not from a noise, but from the ground beneath us.

The whole room felt like it shook. We all stop our activities and share shocked stares, wondering if any one else felt that. Thief is the one who breaks the silence, or she would've, as when she opens her mouth, the room shakes a second time and she, who'd been sitting in a precarious way on her stone bed, loses her balance and falls to her side.

"What was that?!" Wigs cries and stands up, eyes frantically searching the room.

The shaking sends a wave of ripples on a puddle of water on the floor, once, twice, thrice, and still counting. We all look to each other, all with questions in our heads. Eventually, the muffled girl says something and Wigs goes to her to remove the gag.

"Alduin", she says, and I immediately take the cloth and put it back to her mouth.

The next thing we hear is the clinking of keys. We look to the door and found the guard hastily fumbling over her keys as she tries to find the right one. She swings the door open and motions us out, "Oookay roleplaying's over, let's get the hell out of here!"

—

When we return to the main guild room, everything is already in chaos. All the adventurers are on the move, panicked and confused as they pour through the tightly packed corridor that leads to the exit above. Gaëlle tries her best to maintain order among them, she tries to coordinate the evacuation while ordering the guards to stay and prepare the stockpiled treasures for transport.

The whole foundation shakes yet again, sending the students into further panic that most of them drop their treasures where they stand and try to leave. Gaëlle notices our little group in the crowd and points to the exit. "Leave everything and just go! Leave the treasures to us!"

—

The mass of students going through the narrow and bottlenecked corridors makes progress slow and arduous. The way out is a struggle, and even more so when we're grouped up, so eventually, our little merry band of inmates agrees to split up.

"Stick close to the walls", Wigs says to me with a wink as she, along with Thief and Muffles, gives me a thumbs up.

With that, the team of role-player inmates push through the crowd to their own slightly separate ways, and soon enough, they disappear completely.

Goodbye you beautiful bastards.

Eventually on my way out, I spot a tiny metallic figure moving easily through the thick crowd, its size a big contributor to this feat. Remembering where I last I saw it and who it belongs to, I decide to follow it, true enough, it leads me to its master.

"Constanze, what's going on?" I ask the girl once I catch up to her, but strangely enough, it's Amanda who answers me.

"I don't know! I'm pretty sure it's not role playing, though".

The foundation shakes again. It's enough to make us hasten our pace. As we run, I try to stick close to the three for the sake of answers. I ask them, "Do you think it's an earthquake?"

"No idea!" Amanda answers. "Never felt one, never knew what it's like!"

"I remember hearing a noise", Jasminka says from behind and we turn. "Like a growl".

That can't be right, but it can't be wrong either. Is it possible that such a large creature, that's capable of creating these tremors, live somewhere inside this vast labyrinth? Remembering the towering skeleton from earlier, it's not far-fetched to think something bigger could live here.

To that thought, I swallow. "I just hope you heard wrong, Jasminka".

We try to push past the mass of students, and I'm soon reminded that it's very difficult to do so and at the same time keep close with each other. In the ensuing panic, it's not uncommon to be pushed or pulled, so I came to ignore most. But eventually, one was strong enough to make me stumble and fall to the ground. Whoever ran into me too, fell to the ground, her treasure spilled to the ground.

"Gosh, I'm so sorry!" I exclaim and instinctively help grab the treasures.

"Don't mind it, I should be getting used to it by now".

As I help the girl gather her treasures, I couldn't help but catch a glance of her features. It made me pause. This isn't because of some reasons you'd find in romantic stories, I pause when I notice how jarringly disturbing the person in front of me looks like.

Right in front of me, crouching on the floor and grabbing the spilt treasures just as I am, is a person that looks exactly the same as me—same shoulder length black hair, same black eyes, same everything. I'm staring at myself, and eventually… _he_ too looks up. Our eyes meet and both of us stop what we're doing. Both of us stays perfectly still, no words spoken and no movement made, a complete contrast to the loud and hectic chaos around us.

"Whoops", was what's first said by… him.

Before I could form any response, hegrabs the rest of the treasures, shoved it in his bag that also looks exactly the same as mine, and runs away, slipping through and disappearing into the crowd.

"What- how?" I exclaim to no one but myself, but soon find myself answering my own question. "Doppelganger!"

Transformation magic exists in this world, and I've seen it a few times before. There's no reason for me to get bewildered by this aside from this one just so happens to take my form.

However, taking all that happened today into account, this doppelganger isn't that simple of a problem that should be ignored. It doesn't take long for me to figure it out: the missing treasures, the contradicting yet widely supported accusations, and the doppelganger and its treasures, they're all connected. Someone's transformed into me and used my form to slip around the guild room while I was out with my party to steal and effectively put the blame on me. And now that it's discovered, it won't ever show up in the school ever again in my form. If I let it go now, I'll never get to apprehend whoever it is.

I shake myself out of hesitation and, despite myself, found my legs pushing me to where the mysterious doppelganger went to. I eventually found it in the crowd and notice it slipping out of the crowd and into a wayward corridor where no one goes through, presumably because it doesn't lead to the exit. Unknown to the green team, I indignantly, despite the emergency we're in, follow.

—

I lost track of time and fail to realize that, as the chase goes on, the doppelganger's led me progressively further away from the evacuating students. Before I knew it, the chase leads me into a foreign room that describing it as large would be an understatement.

The room that we're in is gargantuan, so much so that calling it a room not only feels like a grand understatement, but also a mismatch. It became quite clear to me that what we've entered is more of a natural cave instead of a man-made room; its floor is dominated by natural rocks instead of the mossy cobblestones I've come to associate the labyrinth's interiors with, and its ceilings are that of a cave; riddled with natural stalactites. The room lacks any hint of human masonry. No light we have can hope to light the edges of this massive cave, and I hear no sound except for our heavy footsteps.

The direction this doppelganger took and the place we arrive at gives me the idea that it did this intentionally so no other students could look at the two of us and figure out its disguise of me. The idea that all this running away is a planned strategy unsettles me, so I intent to stop the chase altogether. The distance between us wouldn't allow weak spells to reach it, so I need to use something special, something Michelle taught me.

I prepare my wand and begin swinging it around in a circular motion continuously. It seems like a redundant, bordering dumb activity, but it soon shows its meaning. Just like blood, I feel raw magic pushed to the end of my arm by the centrifugal force my swinging is producing. Soon I feel magic concentrating on the tip of my wand.

This is Nent, a traditional and historical spell casting form of spell slinging—a compromise between physical and arcane prowess. Literally the act of slinging spells, Nent is usually mastered by those without spectacular magical reserve, needing such physical feat to boost their magic. They're quite popular centuries ago among spellslingers of old.

Without waiting any longer, I throw this manually concentrated magic towards my target.

I cast a fire spell ahead of the doppelganger instead of directly at it, it lands true to its mark and fire engulfs the path it's about to take. The fire was meagre, but it came sudden enough to surprise it and stop it in his tracks. The doppelganger turns to me and I'm thrown off at the sight of my face again. I've seen it a million times through reflections, but this is entirely different and I doubt I can ever get used to it.

I note the sudden movement of its fingers. Fearing it has something dangerous, I pull my wand back and fashion another spell. With a twirl of my wand, the fire that's been lit behind the doppelganger is given life, and it lunges towards it like snakes. They tightly coil around its body and constrict it of any movement. This is the same spell I used during my teamwork with Hannah in disabling the late Lemmy. Hopefully this person doesn't have the golem's gorilla strength and rip through it.

I can only keep up such complex spell for a limited time, such is the nature of all spells I cast—I may have great knowledge of many spells, but my terrible reserve of magic makes me unable to actually cast most spells I know. This is a risky move on my part, but the doppelganger has no idea of any of this. If I could keep up a façade and convince it that I'm capable of binding it like this forever until it squeezes out information, then the risk will be worth the reward. I just have to hide my weakness well from it.

But before I could carry out my plan, he surprises me.

"30 seconds", it says, its voice level and a perfect copy of mine, further unsettling me. It stares at me, showing no hesitation in its familiar black eyes and taunts, "You won't last 30 seconds holding up this spell…"

I let my surprise show only for a split second—it's enough for him to pick up.

How did he know? How could he possibly know? My plan is as good as ruined if he knows this early.

No, I have to stay calm. This has to be a ploy—he must be trying to throw me off with a wild guess, but how could it hit so close to the truth?

It keeps a calm façade, and its unwavering gaze shows how confident it is with his guess. I do a great job keeping my poker face up so far, but I fail immediately when it continues…

"…You first gen wizard".

What?!

The doppelganger loses its smile and grunts as its fiery chains tighten.

How could it possibly know?! Literally no one in this school but Michelle knows that, and she's not one to talk lightly of it. How could this person know such detail about me without me being aware?

Contrasting it, I couldn't mimic its level of calmness at all. My irresponsiveness is all the more glory to the doppelganger, and the pain I just gave it is more sign that it's won one part of the fight. It smiles cockily, and turns something in its hand.

It may've figured out my plan, but that doesn't mean I've lost the upper hand.

"Don't try anything funny!" I shout and use one of the fiery coils to wrap around the item in its hand. With a pull of my wand, the fiery coil twirls and throws the item towards me.

I catch the item and inspect it. It's a gold coin.

The gold coin is nothing incredible. Its inscriptions are dull, its edges chipped, and dirt covers its dull surface, this coin is nothing remarkable, if not old. I've expected much of it, but aside from its material value, I could feel nothing special in it that would explain the doppelganger's confidence.

"Sorry, Franklin", the doppelganger suddenly speaks again, further unsettling me as it maintains the same level of calmness and manages a small shrug. "There's nothing personal about this. I just wanted to join in the fun".

It snaps its fingers and I suddenly feel it. Magic, I feel it violently coursing within the coin. The next thing I feel is a shock of electricity all across my body. It felt as if a thousand burning needle just stabbed all over my senses and killing them.

I lose control of my feet and fall to the ground, my wand clattering on the floor next to me.

The fiery coils are immediately undone and the doppelganger releases a breath it's been holding. I notice this, noting that the spell it just used takes a toll on it too.

The ground shakes again, and I'm reminded of the emergency we're in that I ignored. But the doppelganger doesn't show any care, it calmly approaches me instead, and I'm alarmed to find that I cannot move at all, not even lift a finger.

This guy is not joking. This is a real paralyzing spell.

It crouches in front of me and the first thing it does is checking my bag and pockets. It found the few treasures I kept in there and doesn't try to hide its disappointment. "Dammit. I knew you won't carry much, not with Gaëlle hogging all the treasures".

Nonetheless, it takes them anyway. I can only watch helplessly as the doppelganger takes my treasures for itself.

The ground shakes again, but the doppelganger still doesn't care, too busy gathering its loot. Only when a second tremor follows, and this one greater and much closer than the previous, does it react. The doppelganger pauses its looting and looks around immediately, scanning the wide room as best it can with the little light that's present from my discarded wand.

Without warning, the ground shakes again, much stronger this time, and the doppelganger stumbles and falls to the floor.

"That can't be good", it says.

This jolt of adrenaline is just what my body needed to kick out of the paralyzing spell. Clumsily, I try to push myself up, only to fall again. The combination of numb muscles and unsteady earth is not good for standing up.

Before I could try again, the doppelganger is already fleeing the scene. It carries its bag overflowing with treasures and leaves, running further into the darkness of the room until I can no longer see its form.

With the doppelganger gone, I try to forget about anything else for now and focus all my strength on getting up, fighting against the painful numb doing so. So caught up I am on just getting up that that I fail to notice that the doppelganger had turned on its heels and changed direction. Running past me and towards the corridor we entered from, it cries, "Wrong way!"

Bewildered, I lift my head to see why it'd changed direction, and my question's immediately answered.

Fire, liquid like a wave in the sea, spreads far ahead on the end of the wide room. Like flood water they spread to fill every surface of the wide room, splashing against high rocks and pillars just like ocean waves crashing onto rocks and coastal cliffs. The fire is so strong it's enough to light part of the dark room, and reveals to me something I'd closely describe to a volcanic eruption.

The sight before me makes me forget all senses of reason and pain and force my legs to carry me to the nearest possible exit—the narrow corridor the doppelganger just ran into. However, my legs still tremble and they give in numerous times. I force myself to not look back and give me another serving of shock and just focus on getting the hell out of here. With my back turned, I had no idea just how close the flame is until I could feel the hot air licking behind me. It's enough to send more adrenaline into me and give my legs the possible kick to run into the exit.

Reaching the exit, I turn and see the fire behind me splashing violently in the distance. It'll take a few times until it arrives in this tight corridor, but once it does, they'll force their way into the tight space and could potentially be faster.

Many questions regarding the fire's origin are plentiful but all ignored. All I have in my mind is to run away from this inferno, all problems before it has gone out of my mind.

—

It's only until I reached the upper level do I realize I cannot see or feel the fire behind me anymore. Only the tell-tale cloud of black smoke follows me this far up.

I let myself stop only briefly to take a breather. The priority now is to get out of here and find out just what's happening. I should only rest and stop to think once I get out of here, once safety is assured. But later I find that I'll have to delay that further when I finally arrive at the labyrinth's entrance.

The labyrinth gate is badly damaged, a good chunk of them had been crushed and made into rubble on the floor, and the locks are now but broken bars, joining the rest of the rubble. Dust and smoke limits my vision, yet despite this, I push through the broken gate. My eyes widen once the thick smoke dissipates and I get to see what's become of the rest of the room.

The room I was just in a few hours ago looks nothing like it was. It now looks like a scene taken straight out of an action movie. Students are running around in panic, all trying to find a way out while chunks of stone fall from the crumbling ceiling and pillars, lifting dust to the air and rocking the ground as they land on the once smooth and clean floors, now littered by debris produced from the destruction. They block passage and causes difficulty on the still on-going evacuation of the panicked students. And a hole, gargantuan in size, has been formed on the far side of the room's wall. I've no idea how that's created.

I've unnumbered questions, but they fall short when I saw the doppelganger amidst the chaos. It slips through the crowd of students with its treasure-filled bag still slung on its back, leaving a trail of gold like Hansel & Gretel. Despite everything, I still feel the urge to confront it, fearing that if it's to escape my sight again, I wouldn't be able to see it ever again.

But before I could take one step forward, I'm stopped by Professor Ursula. She brings her broom to a stop right in front of me and says, "We're evacuating everyone, you have to go!"

"Ursula, professor! Someone morphed into me and tried to steal treasures and he attacked me and h-he tried to-!"

"Jericho! This is an evacuation. This isn't the time for that!"

Whatever I wanted to say falls short. I didn't expect the soft spoken professor to shout so suddenly like that.

I look past her and towards the fleeting image of my doppelganger. For each second passing, it shrinks further in the distance and nears the exit—the gargantuan hole in the wall—in any seconds, it'd be out of the chaos and out of my reach for good.

The professor continues, and I focus back on her once I realize I've missed what she's been saying. "A monster broke out from the labyrinth, someone must've awakened it. We need all of you to get to safety".

The professor stops and bites her lip. I could tell just from her wordless gaze that she's more to say but find difficulty in saying it. After a moment of hesitation, she says, "There are many students not yet evacuated", and stops.

My brows arch, I'm not sure what to make of her statement.

The professor immediately takes flight after that and, as if wanting me to forget what she said, says, "Follow Diana's instructions for the evacuation. Please, leave everything that might slow you down behind and stay safe!"

Before I have the time to think of what she said, I notice a commotion coming from the stairs that leads up the tower. Some students rush down the stairways, among them I hear.

"There're still people up there!" One of them says.

"Leave them for the teachers to handle. We gotta get out of here", another tells her.

I look around, seeing past the chaos looking for Professor Ursula, or any able-bodied teacher, to tell them, but I find none. They're all either too far away or already have their hands full. But then my eyes drift upwards and towards a streaking figure riding a broom, its Diana. I'm very surprised to find that she doesn't use it to escape. Instead, she uses it to easily move around the rubble-riddled room and clear them to make way for the evacuating students and at the same time help coordinate them. Despite the chaos, she shows zero intention in leaving.

Is this what the professor meant earlier?

I bite my lip. My mind's yet to make up the decision but my feet already take me up the stairs. I've previously thought the idea of helping to be mad, but seeing Diana, I begin to feel shame that I've thought of running away with the rest while I'm still fully capable of using magic.

Before I leave, I turn around but not to see the professor for guidance or Diana for confidence, but towards the doppelganger for perhaps the last time ever. It doesn't even spare a second to look back as it passes through the hole and exits the chaos.

Burying my indignation, I press on and begin my climb.

—

"Another to add to the list of my bad decisions in life", I say to myself as I climb up the stairs. It's a habit of mine I couldn't get rid of; I often speak to myself during moments of my bad decision as it keeps my sanity somewhat calm.

During my climb, I've found and directed a handful of panicked and disoriented students. So far I hadn't done anything grand and daring, just using words to tell people where to go and what to do, but I get the impression it's a big help for them more than I perceive it.

'Stick close to the walls', I thought to myself and almost smile. I almost said that to one of the evacuating students and I feel sinful for letting that thought entertain me.

"They're evacuating through the main door, Professor Ursula and Diana are going to help you there if you need anything. Leave anything that's holding you down!" I tell the last group of students I sent downstairs.

"Come on, why are you so slow?" I say to myself in quiet as I saw those girls off.

After this, I let myself stop to take a breather and wait in the room the students I just sent down were using to hide. A rumble and a roar from outside make me pause and, for the first time since this happened, try to think what's happening. Aside from all the things that happened with the doppelganger, thoughts on the monster that the professor mentioned begin to cross my mind. Whatever monster escaped, it must've been huge that it caused such tremors. Luckily, anything that big to cause tremors couldn't possibly be anything but a land dweller, which means as long as this tower holds out, I'll be relatively safe.

Along the spiralling stairways I continue until I found a dead end. Piles of rubble and have blocked any way upwards.

"Who left these here, honestly?"

The rubble is thick, formed of collapsed walls and ceilings and so tight a goblin won't make it through. Taking a deep breath and after complaining to no one in particular, I prepare my wand to move the rubbles. They're many and heavy so I'd have to move them one piece at a time. I don't fail to note that anyone like Diana wouldn't have any problem moving all the rubble in an instant.

"If I finish this and it turns out no one's up there…"

I was about to continue with my work and personal ramblings when an explosion rocks the whole foundation. It originates from in front of me, an explosion of rocks that makes me fall back. I instinctively shielded my eyes, and when I uncover them, I'm amazed to find the wall ahead of me has been completely destroyed, rammed from outside by something big. The wall is no longer and now the blue sky outside is visible from here, and there, the perpetrator of this destruction.

It's a dragon, flesh and skin. Wings black and thick as the night and its belly red like the fire it could spew. It's big, big enough to fit the hole that was made in the room down below—the one that _it_ made.

I didn't realize I've been frozen still, my mind blank. Time felt like it stopped, and it resumed once the dragon eyes—glowing like fire—meets mine.

The dragon rears its head backwards and draws breath, its nostrils flare and its belly expands. There, my body felt numb and my heart feels it skips more than a beat.

A dragon that size, the flame it could spew; impossible for me to defend against with my magic. Standing my ground is unthinkable.

The dead end ahead of me; I can't move the rubble quick enough to allow access.

The tight spiralling stairway I'm in; it'll make retreat nigh impossible. The flame could engulf this narrow stairway for miles like air flowing through a flute's narrow pipe.

The only way out of the flame is to throw myself out the broken wall, but with no means of flight, that is simply suicide.

The dragon and its maw that will have to open once it's ready to burn me to ashes; I could throw my strongest spells into it once it does, but that'll require great firepower I don't possess.

The dragon snaps its mouth open, revealing its man-sized teeth and flaming throat—I realize my time is up. The scenarios in my head will no longer be in my head, I'll take a first-hand experience of them here in real life.

I feel my heart leap out of my chest and my hands and knees buckle, but the threat of death makes them astronomically irrelevant when the push of survival overcomes all my fears and senses.

Instead of running away, I stand my ground and take my wand.

Instead of using it to defend, I use it to attack.

Instead of directly attacking the dragon, I aim my wand at the rubble.

Instead of trying to clear through the rubble, I levitate only one big piece of rubble.

And swing my wand with all my force towards the dragon's mouth.

Before I knew it, I'm watching the rock I threw fly towards the dragon's gaping mouth and lodge itself right in its throat.

The dragon's eyes widen and its neck contracts on reflex. Smoke violently erupts from the dragon's throat as the erupting fire is denied exit, and it's forced to rear its head back and violently try to vomit out the alien object causing it. Smoke bursts out from its mouth in coughs, and it painfully chokes out liquid fire.

It all happened in an instant—I didn't even remember myself ordering my body to do it. It felt surreal, like something foreign took wrest the controls of my body and handles it instead of me. So much was I astonished by my own feat that I fail to realize the golden opportunity presented before me, only when the dragon's eyes, red with anger, meet mine again do I break out of my daze and waste my opportunity no longer. My feet take me down the stairs before I could even think.

A dragon! What is a dragon doing in this place?! If I knew what we're dealing with I would've ran away much earlier!

I'd thought that I'm safe, that the dragon would stop giving chase once I run far enough, but I was wrong. The dragon's tail slams the side of the tower, caving through its walls easily. The stairway ahead had also caved in and grows steep, and further down it's collapsed completely. In reaction I try to stop my descent, but the unsteady ground coupled with my buckling legs makes it almost impossible to do so in time. I lose my footing and felt my ankle twist painfully as I land my foot incorrectly. My back meets the stair edges painfully as I tumble down the stairs without stop. At this rate, I'll fall through the collapsed stairs.

Nothing stops me from tumbling down, I desperately reach out to find anything to stop me from falling but find nothing. I cry for help—it's the only thing I feel like I could do.

Thankfully, the reply soon comes as a hand holds onto my own, stopping me from tumbling to my fall. I gasp out in surprise and waste no more time. I hold tightly onto the hand that holds me and attempt to pull myself up.

"Gotcha", I hear my saviour say. I look up to see who it is and my eyes widen in shock as they meet eyes as similar as mine.

The doppelganger is here, beads of sweat trickling down its shaky hands as they precariously hold my weight from falling.

It says, "Now don't be alarmed, I'm just—"

But I was alarmed, I gasp and accidentally jerk my hand so hard out of surprise that he lost hold of me and I fall down the stairs again.

—

When I wake up, I find myself in a wide room and lying on a soft mattress, but all is quiet safe for the drumming beat of the rain outside.

Rain, but wasn't it clear?

I sit up and look around. I'm indeed back inside the room in front of the labyrinth's entrance. The room is relatively the same as last I saw it, just less rubble, there're not that many students left and those that are mostly quiet and resting on similar mattresses as mine. Goblins and other fairies however have come here and it seems they're preparing to clean the place up. I note how some of the students around me are being treated by nurses, and the bandage I receive on my ankle and across my forehead indicates I was one of them. It's just that… I don't remember what gave me injury there.

I look outside through the gargantuan hole on the wall and note the already dark sky, made even darker by the circling thick clouds and the pouring rain. The room is kept warm and lit by torches and candles, creating dancing shadows across the tall, crumbled walls as people pass through them. These are normal flames, warm red and welcoming. In normal circumstances, I wouldn't bother differentiating one flame from the other, but these _are_ 'normal' flames, they're more comfortable to look at than those unsettling green or even blue magical flames some witches and wizards tend to like.

Looking at the hole, I'm soon reminded of its perpetrator and I begin to slowly remember what I forget.

I look across the room again towards the injured students being treated and I'm surprised to find Diana there, and even more surprised still that she's not on the receiving end, but rather, she helps the nurses tend to the injured students, despite being covered in dirt and some scratches and bruises herself.

I now remember what she's doing during the hectic chaos. She stood her ground and dutifully evacuated the students, not leaving despite being able to easily do so. And now, she doesn't even rest from helping others despite her own condition.

I didn't realize she was this nice. I wonder if she was the one that tended to my injury.

That thought alone makes my cheeks go warm.

"Hey".

I snap my gaze away and look to the source of the interruption. Besides me is Gaëlle, herself seated on a mattress next to mine. Bandages adorn her cheeks and forehead and a crack is visible on her thick glasses.

"Treasure's all gone", she says solemnly.

I force my eyes to meet hers, my cheeks grow warm but I try to ignore it. "That's unfortunate…"

"Swallowed by the earth, literally".

"Biblical".

"And I don't know, maybe even if they're not lost, they won't get scored anyway. It seems like the event got cancelled entirely, not that I'm wholly against that—".

"Did you saw me staring?" I interrupt, to which Gaëlle fixes her glasses irritably and snaps.

"Yes! Now will you listen to a word I'm saying?" She yells irritably. I believe this is the first time I heard her ever raise her voice that high.

Being loud, we attract the attention of some of the students around us and even awakened those resting nearby. Some of the nurses even hush us from the distance. A light blush grows on Gaëlle's cheeks and she buries her mouth behind her hands, she seems quite ashamed at her own doings.

It wasn't long that we attract the attention of three particular individuals.

"Ho hoh! You're alive!" I hear Amanda call out. That peace-breaking, overly-friendly, loud and American accented voice makes me recoil and make a funny face. I turn and found the entirety of the green team. Surprisingly, none of them sports any bandages or any signs of injury.

Amanda then pats Constanze 's back and says, "told ya, Cons, he's alright, there's nothing to worry about!"

I was surprised at this, but then I look at Constanze and realize that her expression is nothing close to worry, just that impossible to read, passive expression she'd been wearing most of the time since I met her. I figure that Amanda is just messing with me.

Jasminka takes a seat between my mattress and Gaëlle's, she has two warm cups of coco on her hands and offers them to me and Glasses. "Want some?" she offers with a smile warmer than the drinks.

We take the warm cups and drink. The sweetness and warmth of the drink fights the cold rainy wind away, I could feel my energy and focus getting back to me quickly.

"This is so nice, thanks, Jasminka", I smile, a smear of coco covering my lips.

"Thanks…" Gaëlle mumbles her thanks, for a moment she stops from drinking and eyes her coco quietly.

"I made them myself", Jasminka beams brightly, she's very much happy that she's able to help us in a way she can.

Amanda leans closer to us and inspects our bandages respectively. She asks, "So, what happened to you two if you don't mind me asking?"

Gaëlle fidgets for a bit when she was addressed, something I didn't fail to notice.

"She lost her treasures on the run, she's pretty upset about it", I answer in Gaëlle's vice, giving her a _'see? I was listening'_ look when she looks at me.

Gaëlle presses the rim of her cup to her lips but doesn't drink. She opens her mouth, but the words came out more later, "Yeah. I was… trying to save the treasures and failed".

She says that quietly and it's clear that she's embarrassed about it. At first, I'd thought her reasoning is laughable, born out of gross greed, but the more I think about it, the less I could find fault in this girl. On first glance, to risk your wellbeing trying to save material wealth is foolish, but in her defence, no one at the time of our escape knew the severity of the situation until later towards the end, so the decisions they take then, however wise it seemed at that time, when seen now might seem wholly irrational.

I smile to myself more than towards anyone in particular. Figuring out a person's values after first thinking badly of them is always a rewarding feeling for me.

But apparently, someone doesn't quite understand. Amanda's joyous cackling cuts through the quiet and serious atmosphere, the rest of us look to the girl and her antiques with wide eyes.

"What, that's so dumb?!" Amanda exclaims and points to the bandages adorning Gaëlle. "You got those just because you're trying to save some treasures?"

Gaëlle and I, no, wait, all four of us look at Amanda with quiet, judging stares.

At least Amanda is wise enough to notice this and realize that she's on the wrong side of things and finally retracts her statement. "I mean, uh… what do I know? Maybe the treasure was important after all!"

The apology is half-baked, medium rare at best, but Gaëlle doesn't seem to mind, or she just thinks it's not worth her energy to confront Amanda and accidentally raise her voice again. Gaëlle says nothing and just lifts the cup to meet her lips and drink the warm coco.

Talk about being tact.

Salvaging the situation, Jasminka softly smiles to Gaëlle and says. "At least you two are okay. That's the most important thing, right?"

Gaëlle's eyes trails away, and for a moment I thought she'd actually say no.

"I guess", she quietly says and takes another sip.

Sensing Gaëlle's reluctance under the spotlight, or just plain trying to save her own skin, Amanda turns to me for a change of focus and asks, "What about you?"

"I'm not sure…" I mumble my answer. "But whatever it is, it made me black out and forgot things, hopefully nothing important".

It's the truth, I can't remember much aside from the fact that there's a dragon on the loose and the students evacuating, any detail about that is still blurry to me. I'm no doctor, I've no idea how concussions to the head work. I can only hope my memory will come back to me eventually and no damage it left was permanent.

"I may have had a concussion", I say, pointing to the very obvious bandage wrapped around my head.

"I just hope you don't have amnesia for real" Amanda says.

"Sorry, what's your name again?" I ask Amanda, and she replies only with a chuckle.

I would've returned the laugh, but I'm stopped when I notice Constanze approaching me and offering me something. It's my wand.

"We found it earlier", Jasminka explains. "We checked it over and thankfully there's no damage to it".

Still fearing there's possible damage, I carefully take the wand from Constanze's hands, but I'm glad to find Jasminka's words as true and say, "I must've dropped it. I can't remember how, though".

"It'll come back to you", Jasminka says with a smile.

"Just like my wand, yeah". I reply with a smile as well, her optimism infectious.

There's a brief silence after that, and I take the opportunity to enjoy the warm drink quietly. The endless beating of the rain outside, the warmth provided by the crackling fire and the dancing shadows they create across the room, and the distant sounds of laughs and conversations, they give me a particular feeling of longing and serenity. It's an atmosphere so gentle yet palpable, it's something that's hard to describe with words: the time when you and the people around you are restless, awake and working, but they and the atmosphere around is just quiet, calm, and restful. What I'm trying to say here is that everything feels comfortable, right now and just like this.

"Hey, I'm thinking", Amanda's voice makes us all turn to the girl. She looks to us all with half a smile, "You know, I think the treasure hunt was a success after all. We did find our treasures".

At this, Jasminka smiles too. Constanze doesn't, but nods in agreement anyway.

Gaëlle and I, however, already know where Amanda's going at.

"No", Gaëlle plainly says and returns to her drink and says nothing more.

"That's the most wrong thing I've ever heard in my life and I've heard lots of wrong things", I say.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor—I've no idea how head concussions and temporary amnesia work, m'kay?**


	7. Aftermath of the Dragon Attack

It was early morning when the goblins start their work, a full legion of worker goblins march inside the base of the school's main tower in disciplined ranks, each of them holding their own specific work tools.

As I watch these goblins from the window, the only thing crossing my mind is how much money is spent on paying them to fix the whole tower, not to mention the many materials they'll need.

A dragon attack, it's hard to believe that just happened. I've only heard of them in stories, I never thought there comes a day that I'd witness its legendary destructive powers, even harder to believe that the school I'm enrolled in survived an encounter with it.

"Strange for a student to stay when there's no reason to stay". I hear the headmistress say and found her walking up beside me and looking outside the window with me. "Most are very eager to take advantage of the sudden break they receive".

"I did have a concussion", I point out.

"And I saw a girl that broke her arm at yesterday's event going into town for shopping. It seems nothing could stop those girls from enjoying themselves".

"Well, watching the goblins is pretty enjoyable in its own way…"

"Watching the goblins?" The headmistress asks, brows raised in curiosity. "Why, what could be so interesting about those goblins that captivate you to stay?"

I scratch the back of my head as I begin to realize how ridiculous I'll sound. "Well, you see…"

I turn towards the window and point outside, hoping the headmistress would see my point. "There look, the way they hold their brooms and other work tools up looks like they're soldiers marching to battle".

The headmistress takes a few second to finally see my point, once she does, she lets out a small chuckle. "You have an interesting imagination".

She walks closer to the window, gazing upon the aftermath of yesterday's attack. "Those goblins are not the most expensive, but they'll get the work done. The dragon attack was most unfortunate, and the school needs some moment to recover fully from it, both mentally and financially". She turns to me and gives me a soft smile. "Especially financially".

"I was just worrying about that".

"Don't worry too much about that, Mr Franklin, it may be costly, but our priority here is to teach, and that is worth all the money in the world".

The headmistress is such a nice lady, I can see why Michelle is very fond of her. Despite her small stature, the woman has just the right size of heart, maybe even bigger than most. Her words might not be something I newly hear, but the way the woman speaks and her kind smile just makes her words travel further.

Luna Nova is lucky to have her as the principal.

—

There's really nothing else to do here, seeing how deserted the school is, counting out the worker goblins of course. So after the Headmistress bid farewell, I decided to visit the tower. The fields were busy, fairy workers, mostly goblins, haul carriages of rubble and debris made by the dragon. The most interesting part of the scene however, are the goblins themselves, they work in such ways that would make normal architects bite their nails in horror.

Towering scaffolds, the absurd kinds you won't find in any normal construction sites, are erected high up, hugging the tower. They're crude and painfully rustic at some places, with numerous gussets on it and parts of the scaffolds swaying with the wind and groaning with each movement of the worker goblins traversing them. Attached to them are numerous rope elevators constructed of simple ropes and buckets. They're used to carry all sorts of things from construction materials to even goblins. Slides were constructed for travel across the scaffoldings as well, slick wooden platforms connects from the uppermost level of the scaffolding unto the bottom, used by the daring goblins to travel down the scaffolds with relative ease. The whole construction seems terribly crude and basic, but it seems to work well enough for the goblins and it seems that's all they care. The whole thing looks like something out of a 90s cartoon, where the laws of physics are as mythical as my self-esteem.

I try to make my way to the base of the tower which isn't an easy feat. Trying to not step on a goblin takes some great amount of agility and perception. It takes a while, but I finally made to the more open space at the front of the now broken entrance to the tower. That's when I notice the many teachers around this construction site, all helping the construction in one way or another. I notice the broom instructor, Miss Nelson, along with other teachers ride their brooms to help carrying the work materials up to the tower. While the students are off making the most of the vacation, the teachers stay and work harder than their regular days.

I try to enter the base of the tower, using the massive entrance made by the dragon. A great heap of rubble still sits there, forcing one to climb up it to enter the base of the tower and towards the labyrinth's entrance. Inside, I see the familiar massive corridor where Professor Ursula gave our briefing for the treasure hunt, some of the rubble are already cleared. There're less workers, only a handful. It was then I notice the rubble I'm stepping on begins to quiver, and as soon as I take my foot off of it, it rises to the air with a light glow surrounding it. The levitated rubble quickly floats away from me and towards a stack of neatly stacked rubbles, beside it is a familiar blonde haired witch.

Diana turns to me and raises a curious brow. "I didn't expect to see you here".

"I could say the same about you", I reply.

"I'm simply here to help. I didn't have any important matters elsewhere so I decided to stay and ease the work of the teachers and the workers".

Diana turns back to her work, waving her wand and quickly another set of rubbles fly to her stack. "It doesn't settle right for me if I enjoy my time outside when the teachers work harder than ever to make the school available again as quickly as possible".

A sentiment I share, though hers backed up by action.

"Anyway, how's your head?"

"Still working", I answer, knocking on it lightly. There's a pause between us then, and I'm reminded of the question that's been bugging me ever since I got the injury. Before I could even think it through, my tongue already moves. "Did you tend to my injury?"

Diana pause her work and looks to me. "No, what's the matter?"

I feel my cheeks growing warm for no reason. "W-what's the matter? What's the matter with me just asking that?"

Diana pauses, confused. "…nothing? But why are you—"

"Anyway, where are Hannah and Barbara? It must be terrible of them to leave you here while you're working hard!"

Diana blinks, she's still unsure when she says, "They're in the main building, doing teacher's errant. If you're looking for them, you can—".

I run a hand through my face. "Diana, never mind, just get back to work".

Diana blinks again, bewildered with the way I act. Thankfully she soon ceases her questions and gets back to work without another word on the topic.

That went smoothly!

Diana might've taken my request too seriously, she remains silent as she continues lifting rubbles and clearing dusts off the floor with her magic, while I stand idle on the side with nothing to do or say.

Feeling too idle, my mind and eyes start to wander. My eyes found the broken gates of the labyrinth, now just as I remembered them last—nothing but a pile of rocks and metal on the ground. A thought soon occurs to me, so while Diana's busy with minding her own work, I study the broken gates of the labyrinth. Something about it reminds of a certain someone and the threat _it_ poses.

"Say, Diana, don't you think it's quite dangerous?".

Diana turns to me. "What is?"

"The labyrinth at its current state. There's lots of treasures inside and with the gates broken anyone could just go and grab them, right?"

Diana abruptly pauses her work and stares at me. "If you doubt the honesty of the workers here than I'm sorry to say I disagree with you", she says.

"Nothing like that at all!" I exclaim. "What I mean are burglars, treasure hunters more like".

I notice Diana's eyes slightly widen at the suggestion I just made. She tells me, "Luna Nova is one of the most well guarded place to store magical relics, I doubt the boldest treasure hunters would dare step a foot on this ground".

Well, I can't say what she said is entirely true.

Diana seems to notice the doubt I have for her words, so she elaborates, "The workers are to stay the night near this building, even with the gates open this place will be fairly well-guarded. And regarding the workers, yes, as I previously said I trust them to keep their hands to themselves".

"I'll trust your word on that then, but still, I think the teachers should be informed of the possible dangers of those treasure hunters I mentioned".

Diana takes a thoughtful moment before she nods. "I see no harm in that, yes, you can if you want to". She then stops the chatter and continues on her work, giving her spells serious attention as she controls multiple rubbles at the same time.

Seeing her work hard while I'm standing here doing basically nothing wakes up my guilty conscience. "Here, let me lend a hand".

I pull out my wand and search for something that needs attention and at the same time I'm able to work with, something of my league and capacity.

The scraping sound of broom against the smooth marble floor takes Diana's attention. She turns from her work to look to the source of the sound. With an arched brow, she asks me "A broom?".

I stop my sweeping to reply. "I-I don't really have much magic left in me because of yesterday, this is really the only thing I can do today".

There's a brief silence between the two of us, until Diana says without a nod. "I see". She minds me no further and turns to her work in peace.

I can only nervously increase the intensity of my sweeping to combat this feeling of uselessness I have, while whispering nervous curses at my incredible talent in magic.

—

It's past sunset, the goblins had already stopped their work a while ago. Diana is off to meet with the Headmistress to inform her of my suggestion while I wait here atop a pile of rubble, a warm cup of coco on one hand and a warm paper bag of fresh bread on my lap, a prize the both of us received for 'our' participation in helping the goblins.

The nightly silence and the warm food and drink make the atmosphere one worth writing down about.

Light footsteps echo near the reduced heap of rubble that is the entrance, and sure enough, Diana appears there, wearing the outdoor uniform alongside her blue ribbon witch hat. "Well, I must say your suggestion was sound, the Headmistress and Miss Finnelan agreed with you".

"Really? I honestly expected them not to", I take a good gulp of the warm coco. "But never mind that, Diana, don't you want to taste this wonderful meal the teachers so generously gave us?"

Diana shakes her head, "Go on ahead, I'll need to cast the barrier for this gate first".

Diana walks towards the labyrinth gate and draws her wand, she holds it in front of her and closes her eyes as she begins to concentrate.

Light begins to gather at the tip of her wand, and now comes the incantations. As Diana utters her spell, the light grows in intensity and colour, and soon a misty and transparent barrier begins to form at the base of the broken gate.

I stare in awe at her work of spell, standing up, I walk towards her with a bread in hand.

Diana keeps her eyes closed and continues her chanting. The mist rises until it fully envelops the broken gate, forming a tall misty fog gate that blocks the entrance to the labyrinth.

Only then does her chanting stop and she finally opens her eyes. Diana flicks her wand lightly and the light fades from its tip.

"Cool", I mutter.

Diana returns her wand to her belt. "I've consulted with the teachers and they gave me their permission to use this. It's a very ancient spell, used by witches of old to guard doorways or protect something precious, be it treasure or even living, important people".

Curious, I pick up a pebble and throw it towards the misty wall. To my surprise, instead of being a concrete conjuration, the wall seems to act just like its appearance. As the pebble connects with the wall, instead of immediately bouncing off it became momentarily suspended mid-air before finally bouncing off. A small ripple also spreads from the pebble's impact.

An amused grin creeps up my lips, one that Diana notices well and makes her arch her brows.

I can do this for the rest of the night!

"Miss Finnelan entrusted me to place barrier spells at every entrances to the labyrinth, this was the last" Diana informs me.

"Every?" I ask. "There's more than one?"

"Yes, there are. They're scattered around the school, mostly in the forests. Most of them had collapsed due to natural causes but there are still a hidden few that survived".

"You went to the forest at this time of night? And you did that all alone?"

Diana lightly shrugs. "I've done night patrols numerous times, another won't be so different"

That's not exactly the point, it's the matter of pride here. Why didn't she take me with her? I feel more useless than I had ever been!

Diana walks towards the misty wall. "This is an interesting spell", she knocks the misty wall with her hand, and a water-like ripple spreads on the misty surface. "It's connected with each erected barriers".

"That's cool, that's very cool", I remark, gazing onto the peculiar mist in awe. There's a pause between us, mainly from me, before I speak again. "What does that mean?".

"It means that if either one of them detects an attempt to pass through, a ripple could be seen on each and every barrier".

"Neat".

I walk closer to the misty wall and give a look towards Diana, she quickly understands my intention and lightly nods.

With a smile, I hold up an arm and punch the misty wall with all my might, producing a deep, ghastly sound that resonates from the impact. I could feel my punch quickly suspended and rebounded from the mist, and a massive ripple soon follows, spreading to the edges of the misty wall.

"I sure hope that didn't raise any false alarms". I remark.

I was about to continue my praise both to the impeccable spell and Diana, but a familiar sound returns.

We both turn towards the misty wall again and before us, a ripple, bigger than the one from seconds ago, appears on the misty wall, followed by a deeper and louder sound from the impact.

We look at each other, and before any of us could draw a less alarming conclusion, another ripple spreads across the misty wall, followed by a much deeper and intense impact sound.

"Th-that's not right. Doesn't that mean someone's doing that to the barrier?"

"True, and I'm sure it's not from your punch". Diana says. Before her words could register to my mind, she's already preparing to mount her broom to depart.

I turn to her and realize what she's thinking. "Wait, are we really doing this?"

Avoiding the risk of being spotted by any potential trespasser, Diana forces herself to take the dangerous route and ride her broom through the thick of the forest. The cold night wind bites through as we fly, there's not a single light, and we're speeding at incredible speed. But Diana has not an ounce of fear or doubt in her choice, and seeing her so forces me to feel the same.

Despite the dark, and the speed of our flight, Diana manages to dodge pass the trees with relative ease. More often than not I thought a collision is inevitable only to see her perform incredible manoeuvres to dodge the obstacle.

After long, both of us could finally see the forest edge to a clearing. Diana increases her speed and exits the forest in a grand spectacle, twigs and leaves cover her path, and a tall cloud of dust forms as she skilfully pulls the broom to a stop.

We stop in the middle of a clearing, on the other side is an entrance to a cave sitting on the base of a small hill. On the entrance stands a wall of fog identical to the one erected at the tower.

"I-I'm still alive", I gasp, feeling every bit of my body.

Diana, however, is too occupied to hear me. She scans the area quickly, her eyes meticulously shifting through the treelines, never remaining in one spot for too long.

Only after a full minute does Diana steer the broom closer to the cave entrance. Her movement was steady yet careful, her eyes were calm yet attentive.

We hop off the broom and Diana quickly approaches the fog wall she erected. She does a quick inspection on it before scanning the field once again.

Feeling it's finally time, I break the silence. "What's wrong?"

Diana doesn't stop searching the field. "There was no mistake, something was here".

I look around us, feeling a new sense of alarm. "Hey, hey, if that's the case shouldn't we inform the teachers and more importantly, get the hell out of here?"

My pleas fall on deaf ears, instead of responding to it, Diana takes out her wand and lifts it up. After a few incantations, soft, blue light begins to shine from the wand, forming a sphere of light that spreads far across our grassy surroundings.

An ethereal rabbit suddenly manifests itself not far from us, standing still close to us, peculiarly unaware and unalarmed by our close proximity. Before I can ask myself if I'm seeing things, the rabbit hops away from us and to my surprise, vanishes into thin air as it exits the sphere of the blue light.

This is a divination spell. The place that the light touches will reveal what happened in the past here to the caster. It doesn't go unnoticed to me how clear and crisp the images that the spell shows are, indicating just how powerful the spell and its caster is.

Another minute passes and an ethereal form of Diana comes into view beside us. The past Diana holds her wand up and begins casting a spell, presumably the fog wall spell.

After that, there's no more activity here. The ethereal Diana left with her broom and only a few forest creatures stroll about near the wall. Oh and a forest gnome does wander near the fog wall too, but he kept his hands to himself.

"There's nothing" Diana states.

Diana walks past me towards her broom.

"Should we check inside? Maybe there's something we can find there".

Diana stops and turns on her heels. "There could be, but if whatever disturbed the fog wall is still inside, then that means whoever that was won't be able to escape anytime soon. We better consult with the teachers instead and for safety measures ask for some goblins to keep watch here".

Diana takes her broom and mounts it. She notices I'm still lingering next to the barrier, silent as I'm lost in my thoughts. She says, "Is something troubling you?"

I shake my head and finally move to follow her. "Nothing, let's just get out of this creepy forest".


	8. The Iron Maiden that Troubles Me

**Author's greetings: So you might see the text below in the next chapters (if I forgot to remove them):**

" **Author's Notes: (25/07/18), chapter 6 until chapter 16 has been reworked, if you see this same message on any chapter, it means that that chapter is affected by the rework and its advisable for you to go back and read chapter 6 until chapter 9 because EVERYTHING in those chapters has been reworked. Continuing on without going back will only lead you to a path of ruin and confusion! So do it now!**

 **It's true that chapter 10 to 16 are reworked too, but they changed less compared to chapter 6-9 and have little effect on the story overall so its optional to reread them.**

 **Sorry for the inconvenience!** **"**

 **That was from my old rework, disregard that ;)**

 **Also, while we're on the topic, since this chapter alongside the others are products of reworks, I'm sorry if there's any discontinuity on the next chapters, mainly after chapter 10. I have finished reading through them and fixing/aligning them to the new rework chapters, but if you find discontinuity please let me know!**

* * *

The sun was yet to rise when some figures are gathered inside the headmistress's office of Luna Nova. Michelle, a member of the ministry's Guardian and recently a teacher of Luna Nova, paces around the room in deep thoughts.

"The idea that treasure hunters might try to take the opportunity of the dragon attack isn't far-fetched. The question is, have the news of the dragon attack been made public?" Michelle asks.

"No", the headmistress, Miss Holbrooke says. Her words are plagued with worry and her eyes are cast down. "We've made sure that this incident receives minimal attention from anyone, we've also asked the students to be discreet".

"News of a dragon attacking the school wouldn't sit well with the public". Miss Finnelan says. She'd been silent for most of the conversation, standing in the corner and observing the two. "We don't need another decline to our enrolment rates", she adds.

Michelle stops her pacing. With her back turned to the two, her tone takes a serious turn and she asks. "What are the chances that the fairies give away information?"

"Slim, they're loyal to us". Miss Finnelan answers plain and short.

"Fairies are fickle beings, Miss Finnelan", Michelle says, turning to face the senior professor. "I won't count on every one of them".

"That's quite the accusation", Miss Finnelan argues, crossing her arms. "Fairies had served Luna Nova since its establishment, I don't think its proper for a new teacher to question their loyalty".

Michelle smirks, unaffected by the lady's cold tone. "Well, it _is_ my job to ask these questions".

Michelle turns to address the headmistress. "The decision is up to yours and yours alone, Miranda. But as an advice, I suggest to keep young Diana's fog walls up. As long as they're up I don't find any reason to worry about treasure hunters taking advantage of our weakened security".

Michelle pauses and a smile curves her lips. "She did a great job, high level conjuration I have to praise".

Miss Holbrooke smiles, a first ever since this conversation started. "That sounds like a good idea. You can count on Diana to maintain the spell, Michelle".

Michelle nods. "Whatever decision you'll make, I ask of you to give me the permission to enter the labyrinth. There are things I would like to check there myself".

"I will allow it", Miss Holbrooke nods, clearly pleased with the idea. "And I suggest taking some teachers with you. You can't be too careful".

"A select number will do, and I'll need a list of items for my little investigation". Michelle says before he pauses and puts a finger to her chin. "Say, is there any shop in the nearby town that sells magical items?"

"There is, should I send a few fairies to fetch whatever items you need?" Miss Holbrooke offers.

"No, thank you" Michelle replies with a smile. "I'll send my own fairy".

—

I stand in wait patiently upon the side of the road, a large empty burlap sack hanging over my shoulder.

A pole stands tall beside me, its sign, rusted and aged, shows the logo of a taxi.

I breathe out a hefty amount of air and look up, the bright sunlight seeping through the canopy of the treetops, thick enough to provide a generous shade for me.

Just how long is waiting a taxi supposed to be?

Not far from where I stand is a small dilapidated shed, perhaps originally made for whoever unfortunate soul tries to wait for a taxi to arrive. Grass had long conquered the foot of the shed, its wooden foundation has cracked and tilted at some parts. The roof is also holed and cracked, leading some sunlight to pass through.

Worse of all is the situation of the bench, all mouldy and cracked. Who knows what kinds of germs and insects reside there.

I look to my watch. I don't have a watch.

The gobbos, or goblins as some people call them, had specifically told me to wait here in this cab station. They said this is the only place to get a decent taxi around these parts. But the reality before me tells me otherwise, and I'm starting to think those goblins were trying to make a fool out of me.

I reach for my pocket and pull out a small crumpled note, on it are a hefty list of all the things Michelle had sent me to purchase on the town's local magic items shop. On the bottom is a note that reads: 'don't buy anything else or I'll send you to detention! Love, Michelle".

I push the note back into my pocket, fighting the urge to just chew the note and swallow it whole.

A distant sound begins to reach my ears. As I turn to look down the road, I begin to see something approaching the station fast. My heart lifts in spirit as I notice the iconic colour of yellow streaking towards me.

A taxi rolls on the dirt road and stops in front of the sign. I open the backdoor and quickly jump inside, away from the social interaction-prone front seat. Hopefully sitting at the back will discourage the driver from making such horrors as small talks.

"Thank god you're here. You're late but I'll gladly take that compared to not getting any taxi at all".

There is actually, it's when I notice that there's nobody at the front seat, just an empty taxi with no one but me inside.

I thought there'd been a mistake. I was about to exit the taxi out of confusion until a voice emerges from the front seat.

"Where to Mister?" a high-pitched voice calls out from the driver's seat, a thick yet miniscule Indian accent present. I look for the voice and search the front seat again. But still nothing, there's simply nobody at the front seat.

"Um.. mister?", the voice calls to me again. "Are you alright mister?"

I shake the confusion off and try to answer. "Um…. the town. Please"

"Aye aye mister!"

The taxi accelerates forward with an incredible speed and I'm immediately pulled back to my seat. The sheer acceleration makes it impossible for me to pull myself off the seat, any faster and I would sink right inside the leather skin of the seat.

The taxi's incredible acceleration would surely alarm me, but it pales in comparison to the horror that unfolds beyond me.

The taxi lurches forward, yet its path is not one with the dirt road. The taxi is launching towards the treelines without any sign of stopping or changing directions.

"Where are we going?!" I cry.

"Why, the town, mister!" the voice exclaims.

"I know that! But why are we going forward?!" I clutch onto the leathery back seat, my nails digging deeply onto the smooth leather skin.

The driver fails to hear my words or simply he doesn't listen. Between my terror-filled scream and the roaring of the engine, I manage to hear the sound of gears changing. To my great dismay, it's not a change to reverse, but to full throttle.

"Where we go, we don't need roads, mister!"

With that, the pedal is pushed to the metal. And the taxi accelerates to its maximum potential. The trajectory stays the same and the taxi quickly closes the distance straight towards the trees ahead.

I close my eyes and hold to the seat tighter and scream as hard as I possibly can.

It was mere metres away from the trees when the taxi is suddenly bathed with green light. With a blinding flash, the light intensifies, and a bright light suddenly appears between the taxi and the trees.

A loud thunderous clap erupts, and the taxi enters the bright light.

After that, I could only hear the calm rev of the taxi's engine, nothing else. The previous loud roar of the engines has calmed down entirely, and outside the taxi I couldn't hear any sound of the forest.

I hesitantly open my eyes, only to have them widening quickly when I notice our surroundings.

The landscape outside the taxi has entirely changed, what mere seconds was the edge of the forest is now an odd green endless emptiness, with darker green roots scrambled around us. The taxi itself is no longer in any road, it floats controllably in this green-lighted void.

I must be dead—heaven sure looks a lot like a Ley Line.

"Are you alright, mister?" the driver calls again.

I'm easily startled by the voice, the whole situation had made me terribly jumpy. Collecting myself in the best way I can, I try to answer. "No, are you insane? What was that?"

"Sorry, mister! I should've warned you that this taxi uses an Inconceivable Kinetic Engine Amplifier, or IKEA for short, mister!

"IKEA, IKEA?" I repeat. "They sell these things there?!"

For a moment, the constant hum of the engine, the light rumbling from the wheels, and the ghost-quiet Ley Line fills the silence in the taxi. The driver notices this and clears his throat. "To put it simple, these things makes it easier for vehicles to access the Ley Line, mister!"

I reply to him. "Please sir, warn me the next time you're about to pull something like that off—I just had a concussion".

The taxi continues its course through the Ley Line. The green visuals of the Ley Line and its generally empty, and honestly boring landscape is enough to give me boredom. A yawn escapes my mouth, and I realize if I were to stay awake in this journey, I might need to go out my way and try to makes small talk with this strange driver.

"What's your name, good driver?" I ask.

"It's Rahjaesh, mister!"

"Rahjaesh?" I repeat curiously. "So you're…, you're from India, Rahjaesh?

The driver shakes his head. "No, mister! there are no Gnomes in India."

"Gnomes?" I repeat, more curious than ever.

I lean forward towards the front seat, hoping to take a better look at who resides in the driver's seat. With this new information in hand, I make sure to tilt my head down and sure enough, at the driver seat sits a small Gnome, with the classic red pointy hat and blue overalls. He has a thick brown moustache under his red nose, and his thick hair and sideburns makes it hard to distinguish his face.

Even more curious than his appearance is the long block of wood tied to his shoes, it provides the gnome the needed reach for his legs to push the pedal down below.

"Blimey", I mutter.

The gnome looks up to me, his bright blue eyes looking up to mine. The gnome gives me a quick salute and returns his attention to back to the wheels.

I stop looking and lean back to my own seat, the previous adrenaline pumping danger makes me not realize how soft leather seat feels.

"Okay… Rahjaesh." I begin again, pausing for a moment as I think of something to say. "How long have you been a cab driver?".

"I moved here in 2004 with my family from Punjab, mister".

"Punjab, huh", I repeat. "How many kids do you have, Rahjaesh?"

Rahjaesh, in his already Indian accent, manages to muster a thicker Indian accent. "Oh sir! I have seven children."

I sigh. "Seamless, Rahjaesh, it's seamless, and slightly racist."

The taxi finally reaches the end of our brief trip in the Ley Line and returns to the familiar mortal coil we call earth. Light fills my vision and I'm forced to shield my eyes. Noticing this, Rahjaesh simply pulls down the sun visor.

Before I can point out how useless the sun visor is, being that the light comes from straight in front of us instead of up from the sun, the following view forces me to bite back my words and gaze in awe.

A long dirt road, stretches across a healthy and vibrant hills of green. Forest edges lines one side of the dirt road, while on the other is a wide field, resting below the hills. Birds chirp and sing above us, exiting their forest sanctuaries as they fly to the distant blue skies.

The gnome seems to notice my amazement and proceeds to roll down the window for me. Fresh air, fresher than the view itself, rushes inside the cab, filling me with a calming feeling I've almost forgot exists.

"This is amazing", I whisper.

The gnome smiles under his bushy moustache and he continues his track through the dirt road.

Across the distance, a faint colour of grey and brown begins to appear. The borders of Blytonbury begin to come into view, its old European architecture is visible even from here, and this distance does little to hide the structural beauty.

I've never seen much European architecture before, this is certainly a welcome change. I'm starting to think that I should be grateful Michelle told me to go do some groceries.

The taxi soon enters the town, and the dirt road begins to give way to the cobblestone-paved streets of Blytonbury. From the bumpiness I feel inside the cab, I can tell that this part of the road is quite old. But it's the sort of old that I can get into, it's quite calming actually, the occasional bumps here and there along this old road.

I look outside the windows again, taking in the peculiar view of this old town.

Old buildings line the streets, with tall lamp posts you'd see all over Britain accompanying them. Townsfolk walk on and about to their activities, while motors are at a minimum around. A fair exchange if it means fresh air like this.

The taxi stops to a halt in front of a small shop. I step off the taxi and scan the odd shop of the bunch, which is dark and gloomy compared to its neighbours.

"Thanks for choosing to ride with Gnome's Cap, mister! I hope to see you soon!"

"Do you have a way for me to contact you again? A calling card of some sort?"

The gnome smiles enthusiastically. "Of course, mister!"

He puts his tiny hands into his tiny pockets and after a few seconds of rummaging, Rahjaesh procures a red calling card of aged beige and maroon. He tosses it and it flies right to my hands.

On the aged and waxed beige paper are bold words written in maroon, it reads 'Gnomes taxi service, 24 hours taxi service with careful driving and guaranteed on time arrivals'. A picture of a gnome driving a taxi is printed beside it, and under it is written Rahjaesh's name and number.

I look up and find a tiny hand doing a tiny wave of goodbye from within the taxi. I saw it fade into the distance and wave my own goodbye.

—

"Well what am I supposed to do? It's your fault you bring this pennies instead of normal paper money" The shopkeeper, a man of large stature, complains.

I groan deeply but nonetheless agree on his methods. Counting as fast as he could, the shopkeeper counts each penny I've brought.

The door bells chime and in come three girls, three familiar witches.

"If it isn't our wizard", was Amanda's way of greeting me. "What 'cha doing?"

"Robbing this shop", I answer sharply. "What do you think I'm doing? I'm doing the grocer".

Amanda whistles. "Someone's grumpy today, would you be even grumpier if I start roleplaying again?"

"No more, O'Neill, or else I'll actually murder this guy and rob the store".

Without even greeting me, Constanze leaves her two friends and scans the shop' in a quickened pace, obviously searching for something. Meanwhile, Jasminka seemingly pulls out a bag of sweets from the shadow realm and starts snacking on it, despite a clear sign on the wall saying 'no outside foods allowed'.

"Want some?" she offers me with good intentions, but it falls short in my book.

I give a look to the shopkeeper. It seems that I'm more disturbed with the clear violation of rules than the shopkeeper himself as he merely shrugs in reply.

"So, what are you gonna do with the whole week without school?" Amanda asks.

Without looking at her I answer. "Staying in my room, hopefully".

She snorts, "Boring".

"It's not boring. I mean, what else am I supposed to do? Hang out with the girls, talk about boys and unicorns?"

"Oh you're that kind of kid, huh". Amanda laughs. "Okay, okay. I get what you're saying".

Amanda's eyes trail off, and for a moment her gaze falls onto something on the end of the shop. Without saying a word the girl leaves me for it. I try to ignore it at first, but the sound of cloth being uncovered catches my attention. Turning to the source of it, I find Amanda, old dusty cloth in hand, staring at what seems to be a red broom inside a metal cage.

"Cool", Amanda says, who's now joined by the still snacking Jasminka.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly stops his counting and steps towards the two girls. I groan at his abandonment of duty.

The shopkeeper skids to a halt between the girls and the broom. In one quick breath, he says. "Nope, no can do! This isn't for sale, so get your sticky paws off of it".

"That makes it even cooler", Amanda remarks, eyes still fixed on the broom instead of the man.

"Dude, changes, please?" I try to catch the shopkeeper's attention.

The shopkeeper doesn't hear me. Crossing his arms and shaking his head, he says. "Bossman's gonna kill me if anything happens to it, gonna cut my hands no joke! Even worse, he's gonna cut my paycheck!"

"You need to get your priorities sorted out, dude", I throw a snide, but alas like my last remark, none even cares to listen to it.

"Oh come on!" Amanda exclaims. "Why so suspicious to us? We're just looking, it's not like we're going to steal it!"

The shopkeeper pauses for a moment and thinks about Amanda's word, but before he could calm his unprovoked suspicion fully, his eyes catch Jasminka who's now touching the metal cage. Eyes wide and nose flaring, the shopkeeper cries. "Hey! No touching!"

While the show goes on, I'm still here with my would-be exchanged changes waiting for a chance for the shopkeeper to change his priorities and exchange these changes. A sigh escapes my mouth, loud, overdramatized, and clear. "Come on… changes!"

Now the shopkeeper appears to be teaching the girls a lesson on the history of the red broom, pointing here and there somewhere on the wall, showing all kinds of old newspaper news reporting on the red broom and its awesome capabilities and most of all trying to explain the importance and value of it. The two girls however, don't give a damn.

"Do I have to sing it?" I say, more to myself at this point. "Ch-ch-ch changes, turn the page around, ch-ch-changes, don't wanna be a lesser man".

Still not a single response from the three, now their bickering only escalates more and more.

Seeing the futility of my attempts, I sigh to myself and start counting the changes by myself. And only now after I've taken my eyes off of the three, I notice that Constanze is right next to me, waiting in line for the cashier, same as I am. She appears to have been staring at me this whole time.

"W-woah, how long have you been here?"

Saying nothing, the girl just blinks. I too blink at her lack of response.

"W-well, I won't be long, I just need to count this kilograms of pennies". I laugh, more as a comedic effect than actually finding humour in my own joke.

Still nothing, the girl just looks to me. Hoping to fish out just a smidgen of talk, I try to jest with anything.

"You're Cons… Constantine… no wait, Constable, right?"

She's still silent, but now she wears a sour look on her face and puffs her cheeks.

I break into a chuckle, that was too adorable.

I feel something tugging at my sleeve. Looking down, I find Constanze tugging at it. Before I could even ask what she wants, she points down, towards my trousers. She then looks up to me and waits in expectance.

Amused, I say, "Try to guess".

Constanze says nothing. She takes the Stanbot rested atop her head and begins to press unidentified buttons on it. The usual radio-like static noise comes out until it settles to an audible one.

"It's a trap!" admiral Ackbar's recognizable voice plays out from inside the robot. I grin before breaking into a chuckle.

—

"You know, I'm not sure these things that you told me to buy are safe", I say.

"And what makes you think that?" Michelle asks, too busy with her work, which is packing the essential items for her investigation, to even look up.

"Well, there's this one shop owner, she gave me a weird look as I gave her a rundown of my list. It's like a look of pity and a little disgust".

"And you were worried?" Michelle asks.

She walks to the duffle bag I placed on the floor, takes a few items, and returns to her work. She offers no more words on the topic, continuing somewhere else. "You bought too little bone dust, but that's a mistake on my part I suppose".

I sigh at her neglect. Knowing her, I know she'll be too preoccupied with her work to care for my story. But just as I thought she'll ignore me entirely for the rest of the day, Michelle speaks again. "Quite the heavy bag, I doubt you're strong enough to use your hands on it".

"Yeah. One of those friends I mentioned helped me carry it. Well, it's more like she carried it all by herself, she's powerful".

"Chivalry is dead~".

"It would've been rude if I declined her offer, and no, I can ride a horse just fine, Michelle".

Michelle straightens her back and wipes a sweat away from her forehead, taking a deep breath, she says. "That's it, all done, all ready to go".

"Say, Michelle, do you mind if I…"

"Nope", Michelle answers, knowing full well what's on my mind. "The labyrinth isn't a place for students".

I blink a few times. "But… it was a place for kids just days ago?"

"That was before a dragon attacked", Michelle says. "I'm taking a few teachers with me. And even if I wanted to, the headmistress will not allow any student to enter the labyrinth, not in its current state".

I study her for a few silent seconds until I can't find a single trace of any humour or lie on her face. Sighing, I say. "That's boring".

Michelle raises a brow. "I thought you're the one who always said 'not getting killed in a horrible spelunking accident is what's not boring'. Don't worry you'll probably get bored inside there anyway, just a bunch of teachers talking boring old people stuff".

Michelle pauses for a moment, lost in thought before continuing. "I know I will".

Michelle packs all the required items on a small leather briefcase. I expected the briefcase to bulge or even break from the sheer amount of items, but surprisingly, the briefcase is able to contain all those items without any sign of breaking or bulging. More alarming still, Michelle lifts the briefcase up with just one hand, not breaking a single sweat as she does.

Michelle notices my puzzled state and tilts her head. "What?"

I could voice my awe at the magic in display, but instead something else bothers me more than that. "Why didn't my duffel bag do that?"

Michelle thinks for a moment and shrugs. "It didn't? Well, that means I forgot to".

Michelle makes her way to the door, stopping halfway and turning towards me she holds the door open. "And don't even try to follow me, I'm not joking!"

"But, hypothetically, what if I do anyway?"

"I don't know", Michelle puts a finger to her chin, a light smile forming on her lips. "I think It's Miss Finnelan's job to handle that sort of things".

And with those last words and a shrug, Michelle closes the door behind her.

When the door was open it hid something behind it, hiding there since the beginning of our conversation, sandwiched between the open door and the wall. Now that the door is closed, it reveals a figure there, standing awkwardly and staring right at me. It's my doppelganger.

"Wha—"

Before the words could even leave my mouth, a gold coin flies and lands on my forehead and I immediately feel the all too familiar pain. My senses burn and my limbs go numb. I fall to the floor like a plank, paralyzed for the second time this week.

The doppelganger quickly rushes towards my paralyzed body. "I have no choice", it says, "I'm not risking you suddenly shouting once you see me, but I'm here with a proposal".

The doppelganger heaves my still stiff body up. "But that's… got to wait".

It swings my still rigid arm around its shoulder and begins to support me out the room. It, in my disguise, brazenly walks around the school's hallway with my paralyzed self in tow. It says not a word. I could not move a finger.

Many things race in my mind—what the doppelganger is doing here, what it's trying to do with me, and why it's so confident with being seen with me—for all I know, he's basically kidnapping me. I pray deeply that someone, anyone, runs into us and bring this to a stop.

My prayer is quick to be answered. I hear the sound of footsteps, two pairs, accompanied by chatter, rounding the corner. Hannah and Barbara stop on their tracks and go silent once they saw us. They're both still in their school uniforms, but they have colourful luggage in tow. The doppelganger as well stops moving and the four sort of just stare at each other in awkward silence. I could only wait in anticipation for my unlikely saviours to figure this out and save the day.

In the awkward silence, Hannah and Barbara would occasionally stare my way, both equally bewildered. It's Hannah that finally breaks he silence by asking, "What's going on?" She sounds almost too afraid to ask.

"H-Hannah, Barbara! What're you two doing here? I thought you're away like anyone else!" the doppelganger returns the question with a stammer that, to its credit and my dismay, sounds painfully like mine.

Barbara sounds like she was about to answer, but Hannah got there first.

"None of your business", she says, her hand hovering over Barbara's mouth, covering it. "What are _you_ doing here? And what's with that copy of you?"

Shit. This is the thing with witches. This otherwise absurd situation seems normal in a world where spells and miracles happen daily.

"I-I'm just practising with some spells and tried one about self-duplication. Well, what do you think?"

The doppelganger stands me upright and pats my back, like a merchant showing off its fine ware. I've not much hope left that any of these two will figure out what's going on here, not with the doppelganger's seamless performance of my character coupled with the normalcy of the situation in their witchy eyes. But still, I couldn't help but have a little bit of hope when I feel Barbara's scrutinizing gaze on me. I hope she's perceptive enough to notice anything strange.

Barbara bites her lip. "This is…"

Hannah briefly studies my paralyzed self as well. Note that I have no control of my facial animations at this state.

Something in her mind made Hannah smile from ear to ear. She whispers to Barbara's ear, and soon the black haired girl shares the same smile, albeit with a stronger smug aura.

Barbara says, "It looks as lame as you!" and they both laugh gleefully.

I inwardly scream.

The expectant smile leaves my doppelganger's face, it shows clear offense, but offers no words. It only frowns and narrows its eyes at the girls and slightly puffs its cheeks. Without a word, it grabs me again and resumes its kidnapping. 'My' defeat indeed delights Hannah and Barbara. I could still hear their delighted laughs as my doppelganger brings me further down the hallways. Disappointed beyond belief, I still have to give it to my doppelganger—it made a convincing portrayal of me that Hannah and Barbara didn't even realize something was off.

Or, they just never cared of the details about me in the first place.

—

The sky had already lost its sunlight. I reckon I'd missed the cafeteria's dinner by now, that is, if there even is one during school breaks such as we're having now. The doppelganger had never ceased carrying me towards somewhere I've yet to know, occasional obstacles were presented but it easily talks them through, further revealing to me its great knowledge of my character and how to mimic me. That thought alone sends shivers down my spine—it's truly invested in learning my character to perfect his disguise—I can only wonder what it'd possibly done so far in my face. Stealing a few treasures are one thing, but other unspoken things are crimes unforgivable when done in my face!

But I couldn't fight. I can only hopelessly watch the shifting treetops as I'm carried further and further out of school grounds and towards the forest. Eventually the doppelganger tops and leans me to a tree. It wipes beads of sweat from its forehead and says, "That's far enough!"

The doppelganger leans in close and reaches for the coin on my forehead, I could feel my senses returning once it is detached from my forehead. My limbs are still weak and shaky—an aftereffect of the nasty shock—but they're already good enough to move.

Before he could even talk, I grab him by the collar and punch him straight at his nose.

The doppelganger stumbles backward and falls to the ground. Its pained screams are muffled as it presses his hands tightly onto its nose. It writhes around the ground with blood spilling out between his fingers.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I scream.

The doppelganger ceases its screaming. For a moment, all is silent save for the noise of the night forest around us: the beating wings of bats as they're roused by our commotion, the undisturbed chirping of insects surrounding us, and the rustling of leaves above us, indifferent towards these two loud trespassers. It's at this moment of quietness do I realize how erratic and loud my breathing had become. I wait warily for the doppelganger to respond. It'd taken a good while just writhing on the ground and now it goes to a prone position. Its hands are still pressed on the fresh wound I gave it, but at least it's quiet now.

Still on the ground, it turns to me with glassy eyes. It asks, "Why'd you hit me?!"

"Why did I hit you? Do I look like I'm slow?! You tried to kidnap me! Identity theft! Robbery!"

"I admit that's terrible on my part!" the doppelganger says, raising its voice enough for me to hear past my own. With its one hand still pressed to its bleeding nose, it says, "But hear me out: I saved you!"

I grunt and bite my lip. Its right, I do remember that now, if not vividly. "And, you're asking me a favour in return to that?"

It points at me with one shaky finger. "That's right! You're indeed very bright!"

The doppelganger shakily pushes itself up. I give it the benefit of the doubt and hear it out first instead of going straight to the punching.

"Listen, I know you don't want me anywhere near you or this school, but the problem is I wouldn't be able to leave this place even if I wanted to".

"What do you mean you can't?"

It reaches into his pocket and takes out a handkerchief. It uses it to wipe the last bits of dry blood from its nose. "I came here through a portkey—a miniature Ley Line. That portkey is my way out as well but it's out of my reach because of recent events".

"That portkey's inside the labyrinth?" I say, more as a statement than a question.

The doppelganger nods. "Ding dong", it says, its miserably defeated voice not matching his playful choice of words. It opens its mouth to continue, but I was quicker than it.

"You're the one that triggered the alarms yesterday night. You wanted to go to your portkey then".

"Ding dong, twice".

"And now you're asking me to help get to your portkey", I conclude.

"Ding dong, thrice", it says. "Congratulations, you managed to conclude my own request".

The doppelganger pauses and its eyes look away. I soon realize it's nothing to say next. It must be waiting for my response.

"After all the things you did, you think it's a great idea to ask me for help in finalizing your heist".

It looks back at me. "I wouldn't if I'm not desperate, okay? And no, it's not called a heist, not when all I gathered got lost in the end thanks to the bloody dragon".

I cross my arms. "So you admit you _were_ stealing those treasures".

It shakes its head and rubs his nose. "I told you, I lost the treasures".

"That's like saying a murder is justified because the victim is a twelve year old who had a pancreatic cancer that will kill him in less than a month".

"Are you trying to make me sad? Why so specific?"

I plant my hands on my hips. "In any case, it's in your interest to get out of this school, but not mine. What can you make to worth my while in helping you escape instead of just handing you to the teachers?"

"Because I need you, and I saved you" the doppelganger says, quite miserably.

So that's its betting chip. It's right that it saved me and I should be grateful for that, but I'm wise enough to not be too grateful and return the kindness by helping it here and now.

"I'm not soft enough to help anyone that asks me to".

The doppelganger grunts and takes a few steps back. It turns its back towards me and says, in a rather threatening way, "It would be in your interest to help me, or else…"

"If you dare paralyze me again, the moment I'm free I'm going to punch you harder".

The doppelganger clicks its tongue. It narrows its eyes at me. "I could just throw my coin at you and leave you here. Imagine what I could do in your body while you stay here frozen!"

I sigh. At this point I don't know what to make of that threat. Just who is this person?

In any case, I definitely don't like the sound of this. This doppelganger seems defeated, weak, and desperate, but it's exactly because of those that I don't like this. For all I know, I could be falling for an elaborate trap. Our first encounter gave me a terrible impression of this doppelganger, and it's done wonders in the way I see it tonight. This all could be a trick that it's devised to ensure victory on its side only.

I have to find a way to not be the loser in this situation. I have to think of a way to defeat it in its own games. So instead of delving deep into what its retaliation would result in, my mind drifts to other possibilities. I don't want it to feel it has the upper hand, since it's the one that needs my help, desperately one at that, I know I have a weight on the negotiation scale.

A smile comes into me suddenly. I've an idea. I say, **"** I'll help you and keep my mouth shut".

The doppelganger's face lights up—it didn't expect this.

"On two conditions: you'll never to set foot on this school ever again and you will unravel your disguise".

Its face loses hope—it didn't expect this.

I continue, "You should be thankful that this is what I'm asking of you; you may have saved my life but that doesn't clear your deeds. I need to make sure you're not up to any naughty deeds".

"I promise I won't set my foot here if you let me go back home—I wouldn't be able to anyway even if I wanted, would've burned by portkey's magic by using it to go home which is far away—isn't this enough?"

"You said you wouldn't return here, right? So why is it a big deal that I know how you look? I'm asking you to undo your spell so I can see who you are as a guarantee that if ever I saw you around here again, I'd know you didn't keep your end of the bargain".

"Unravelling my disguise…" the doppelganger mutters. Its eyes search the ground for a moment, but then they look back at mine. "But you'll keep quiet about all this? My looks included?"

I reply with a nod. "I'm a man that's surprisingly keeps my promises".

The doppelganger pauses, his eyes search the ground before meeting mine again and continuing, "What stops me from sneaking into this school again by disguising as someone else anyway after I show you my true face?"

"If you can do that, then what's the problem in showing your true face?"

The doppelganger goes silent. We're locked into a stare but it breaks off first. It chuckles dryly and turns away from me. It paces around until stopping next to a tree and it rests its hands there. The doppelganger's face contorts to multiple expressions as it mulls and groans and thinks this through. It points at me but says nothing and returns to its silent state again.

"You cheeky bastard", it would occasionally say. I smirk knowing I successfully cornered it.

The strength of my demand depends solely on the doppelganger's level of desperateness in going home, if the doppelganger weren't this desperate, my demand would've been entirely unsuccessful. What that desperateness stems from, however, I couldn't care less. The doppelganger looks like it's in physical pain as its head runs at maximum performance to think this through. It paces from one spot to another, grumbling and groaning, until it finally stops and looks at me.

"Fine!"

It takes out a gold coin, similar to every other coin it's used thus far, and brings it up to its head-level. But before it could cast its spell, I stop it.

The doppelganger looks at me with raised brows. "I'm not going for a paralyzing spell, you know?"

"That's not it", I say and take out my wand. "Let me do the dispelling, so you don't just use a new metamorphosis spell to someone not yourself".

I've yet to confirm it, but my guess so far is that he uses his coin as some sort of catalyst for his spell, just as I use my wand.

The doppelganger stares at me and makes no attempt to mask its disappointment, disappointment that its plan has been unravelled. With eyes devoid of hope or joy, it raises its hands up, not making an attempt to escape the inevitable.

"Just don't do it roughly", it says.

A smirk graces my lips once again before I blast the doppelganger with the strongest nullification spell I could muster. The spell's impact sends the doppelganger tumbling across the ground hard, stopping a few metres away from where it previously stood.

The doppelganger remains on the ground for a minute, groaning and coughing.

"Go to hell", I say.

"I saved your life", the doppelganger says in-between coughs.

"That's after _and_ before you paralyzed me".

The doppelganger pushes itself up on its own time. I would've pestered it to go faster and not waste more time, but something makes me stop, something very wrong.

What stands in front of me now is a boy my age, with puffy blonde hair, strong jawline, sharp nose, and dead, fish eyes. He's a commendable sideburn going on. He would be taller than me if he straightens his slouching back.

The doppelganger catches my gaze, one of disdain and disgust, and asks, "What's wrong? This _is_ me".

I say nothing and keep my judging stare, he reads what's on my mind well.

"Yes, I'm a boy. Am I a creep? Arguably! But I was in it for the treasures, nothing else!"

"Sure, buddy".

Looking back at it, I begin to regret deciding to help him.

The boy pauses and his eyes drift off. A light blush emerges on his cheeks. "Okay, I was in it for some other things as well, but I snuck around in your form not a girl's!" he says, putting an emphasizing pause before continuing. "I couldn't go anywhere far in your form even if I wanted to, so stop freaking out".

I say not a word, letting my judgemental stare do my work.

The boy gives in and groans. "Fine I admit, what I did was creepy and unethical, but we're not here to argue about that now are we? We don't have all day, so are you going to hold up your end of the bargain?"

He doesn't wait for me and walks back to the direction of the school. I follow not long after.

I say, "I did say so, but I didn't say I won't judge you along the way!"

—

The labyrinth's main entrance is quite different from how it was the last time I saw it with Diana. Checkpoints—crudely made of wood—are erected in just a span of a night by the goblins and manned by them as well. The fog wall draping the entrance is still the same, stirring calmly unless disturbed.

A goblin security sits on a recliner chair inside the checkpoint post. He looks up from his newspaper and coffee upon my arrival. "Ah, if it isn't Mister Franklin. What brings you back here?"

"Michelle asked me to, part of the investigation thing she's planning to do".

"Miss Oliver? Right away, ser".

The goblin presses a button and the fog wall parts neatly, he then leans on his recliner chair and returns to his leisure. He's interrupted however, when he hears someone clear his throat.

The goblin sticks his head out of the post. "Yes, can I help you, Jericho?"

I laugh lightly, "Yes? Press the button for me?"

The goblin looks puzzled, he glances at the barrier and indeed it's still closed. He scratches his chin and says, "I could've sworn I pressed the button, must be daydreaming, this old head of mine"

Without question, the goblin presses the button again and the fog wall parts once again. He smiles at me politely and tips his hat. "Have a good day, mister".

The fog wall closes behind me, not a walk in too far, I found my doppelganger, back in my form, leaning on the labyrinth's wall and folding his arms in wait. Aside from the metamorphosis spell, he also has his humour returned.

"Imagine all the pranks we could pull off", he says.

I walk past him without stopping or even glancing. "I'd…. rather not imagine that, Eren",

My doppelganger frowns. "Aaron, its Aaron", he corrects me.

Aaron guides me through the labyrinth, now quiet and empty as a grave, not that it's far away from that to begin with. The labyrinth has always been dark and dreary, but the last time I was here there's an air of excitement and the warmth of companionship. That's, of course, before the dragon attacked, and everything went south. We inevitably pass through a familiar room—the former guild room—where the wooden desk that Gaëlle used to receive clients still sits unmoved and the job board still stands at the end of the room, some job requests and offers still tacked on it, still waiting for an adventurer to come and take it.

Aaron walks up to the job request board, he takes one off and looks it over. I expect a sharp whistle of the horn to immediately follow but it never comes.

We press on, climbing down spiralling stairways and walking through cold and puzzling corridors. Eventually we end up on one of the deeper floors, where natural rocks begin to replace masonry and the ancient traces of mankind, be it rusted weapons or skeletons, begin to diminish, indicating that not many ventured in these deeper parts even then, let alone now. Our venture takes about half an hour until we finally exit the winding corridors and find ourselves in a wide room where the human touch is very little, only the door and some long extinguished scones are among them. I found the room to be similar to the one where I confronted Aaron at, but I could never be sure which room is which in this labyrinth. Far in the room, a tall metallic object catches the light of my wand, reflecting it back in the darkness. The object is a metal casket with spikes on the inside, with intricate ornaments on its outside and a head like shape on top of it. It's an iron maiden, a famed if not fake torture device.

Aaron walks ahead first while I stay for a moment. I say, "Did you know that Iron Maidens might've never been used as a real torture device? It was a fake concept popularized by two men in the 19th century, an era not known for impaling people to death".

Without turning around, Aaron says, "Yes, they also make banger music".

"When The Wild Wind Blows is their best song".

"I know you think so", Aaron says, but before I could respond to that mildly alarming statement, he already continues, "Also something not's right, the seal's been broken".

Aaron approaches the iron maiden and touches its soft metallic surface. He looks the iron maiden over and opens its doors carefully. "There's supposed to be some seals here to close the iron maiden, but someone, probably one of those witch friends of yours, opened it".

"And why is that a problem?"

Aaron lightly kicks the iron maiden's base. "This thing's pretty old, pretty stubborn and thus unreliable at times. The seals make the spirit within this troublesome portkey less stubborn, but now they're gone".

I notice that, indeed, there'd been seals taped around the iron maiden, now ripped open and scattered on the floor. Some metal chains also lie scattered on the floor, broken.

"Portkeys are finicky stuffs, and they're high-level in difficulty to make and master, you're saying you did all that?"

"I didn't", he says. "I bought them".

"So then, how do you fix it?"

Aaron's answer comes in the form of a kick. He kicks the iron maiden hard and does so a second and a third time.

"I'm no mechanic but that's not how you should do it", I say.

"No, no, no, trust me it works so much better than I expected as well".

Aaron keeps on kicking while I wait and watch. In between each kicks, he would say.

"You, just, need, to, show, you're, its, boss!"

To my great surprise, the familiar green light of a Ley Line, like a spark of electricity, begins to appear within the iron maiden's dark and spikey depths. With each consecutive kick, the light grows stronger and the lasts longer.

Aaron rests his hands on his knees to take a breather. He looks up at me and says, "It's not stupid if it works".

"You could've just used a fixing spell or something".

"I could say the same to you. Not so smart now, are you?"

I sigh, "I mean. I have a reason not mastering such a difficult spell".

"Yeah, you and your non—".

I cut him off, "How did you know, back then?"

Aaron pauses his kicking. His back turned to me, he says, "I didn't. It was a big guess, born from the conclusions I made from observing you. Needless to say I made a pretty spot on guess".

Aaron looks to me, and as if reading my mind, he says, "I didn't say anything to anyone".

I release a breath I didn't know I held.

"You keep saying you're observing me, how and what for?"

Aaron continues his kicking. "In case the past three days had gone over your head, I could use a metamorphosis spell quite aptly. And for the latter, disguising as someone is much easier when you know that person well".

"I can't say I'm not impressed, but what you did was still wrong and no less creepy".

"I'd use the word 'creative'", Aaron responds. "I have the special talent of reading other people's minds well".

Aaron kicks another time. I sigh and push the conversation elsewhere. "At first I thought you took the treasures for the event—to get some scores—I thought that you were at least a student here. Turns out you're not and you're grabbing those treasures for financial gains".

Aaron holds up a finger. "Ding dong. I can't fathom why you all were going to hand the treasures back. The teachers are going to throw them back to the labyrinth for the next class to use, and after that, they won't do anything to the treasures—leave them to rust in the labyrinth. Why waste such treasures? Honestly I don't even think you could call what I did as 'stealing'"

"Well, you're not entirely wrong. I thought it's a waste as well when that part of the rule got to me".

Aaron raises his hand. I stop and raise a brow. "What? We find some sort of common ground for once and you—".

"Just shut your mouth", Aaron says in a half-whisper.

I was about to say something back, but I hear something that made me stop: footsteps, many of them, and some voices, distant chatters. They come from behind the door that we entered—the only way in and out of here. Both of us freeze and stare at the door that lead outside, now having light seeping through its seams.

"Out of all the time and place they could investigate, they choose here and now?" I exclaim.

Aaron says nothing and instead acts, he resumes kicking the iron maiden, harder and faster this time.

I rush to him, "Wait, you're going to make a noise".

Aaron stares at me dead in the eye and says, "If they catch me here, I'm dead. If they catch you here _with_ me, you're dead".

I have not thought that through. To add gasoline into the fire, I'd completely forgotten that Michelle warned me of even stepping my foot in the labyrinth. We're locked in a stare. Aaron waits for me to come to a conclusion while I'm lost in this realization.

After a minute, I snap out of it. "Kick it. Kick it to oblivion, Aaron".

It doesn't take long for me to join Aaron in the endeavour. We continue to kick on the iron maiden in tandem. The Ley Line light keeps appearing and disappearing with each kick and the sound of metal against boots resonate through the wide echo chamber. It's not long for the noise to reach outside.

"What's that, a monster?" I hear the person outside the room say to another.

"It's that way, in that room!"

Doubt and nervousness runs in my veins like cold ice. I can't stop my hands from shaking and I soon feel my breathing fasten, this one not because of the physical strain my kicking is giving me. Aaron combats his nervousness by kicking harder and harder, having lost any sense of subtlety, while I at the urgency decide to search for a shortcut. My hand hovers above my wand, and the nearing sound of footsteps and the light that grows brighter outside the door is the last push for me to go for it.

"Sosomme Tidiare!"

With my level of competence on white magic, the repair spell's effect comes slowly. Terror immediately fills Aaron's features and he cries, "That's too slow, use your legs instead!"

I don't listen and keep the spell active as best I can, praying it'll at least be faster than those outside the room.

Aaron hears a rattling noise from behind us, he turns and sees the chains that's been broken and scattered on the ground beginning to glow with green light and rattle. When he realizes what the chains are going through, his eyes widen with terror and he almost stumbles with his warning.

"S-stop your spell!"

"No, this is faster!" I cry indignantly.

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain, something solid hits me from the back right on my spine. The next thing I feel is the cold of a steel wrapping around my body and immobilizing me. Unbeknownst to me, I've not only fixed the portkey but also the chains that once seal it. In their flight towards the iron maiden, the chains have hit me from the back and coils around me. I couldn't move, the chains are too tight and they continue to be pulled to the iron maiden as part of the fixing spell, and along with it, me.

The people outside the room have become the least of my worries. A new kind of fear washes over my entire being as I'm dragged closer and closer to the iron maiden that now, in a stroke of bad luck, has finally recovered—inside its once dark interior is now a vast green of a Ley Line leading to god knows where. Not once in my life so far have I perceived the Ley Line as something so sinister.

"Help!" I cry out helplessly.

On the edge of my vision, I spot Aaron trying to reach for his pocket for a gold coin but fail miserably. Aaron's gold coins fall from his shaky hands and clatter on the floor, it's the last thing I see before green light completely fills my vision and I begin to disappear into the Ley Line.

The clock keeps ticking, apathetic to our distress. I'm consumed by the Ley Line with each passing second, the sound of footsteps outside the door continues to come closer, and the twist of a doorknob soon follows. Aaron finds himself in the centre of all this, and time won't ever wait for him and his indecision.

Something made Aaron bite back his fears and rush towards me, not to pull me out, but to push me _and_ join me through. Upon his last minute decision, the both of us are sucked into the Ley Line together, the heavy and metallic doors of the iron maiden closes shut behind us.

With the green light from the iron maiden gone and our presence completely gone, the room is now quiet and dark. Whoever those people outside were, they won't find anyone here but a silent iron maiden that tells no stories of what happened.

* * *

 **Author's Exit: wow that door scene, explained like a pro. What I'm trying to say is, you know how when a door opens you could hide behind it, sandwiched between it and the wall? Yeah it's like that, God!**

 **Also yes, When The Wild Wind Blows by Iron Maiden is such a good song!**


	9. Stranded in London

It's dark for as long as I could remember, unlike how I remembered the insides of a Ley Line. It felt like I was dreaming. But that dream comes to an abrupt end when I faintly hear the splash of water on the edge of my hearing. When I turn around, I saw water streaming into the dark emptiness like a flood, soon swallowing my entire body.

It takes a second for me to realize I'm drowning, and it's not the way one would drown—falling into water—I feel myself instantly surrounded by water. Trying to move immediately remind me of the chains restricting me. Panic once again fills my nerves. The water is dark and I could hear nothing, I truly feel helpless. It feels like a nightmare.

On the edge of my vision I catch a glimmer of light, golden and familiar, and the next thing I know, I feel the chains around me broken, as if they're cut cleanly. My neck hurts as someone grabs me by my collar and drags me up. I push the hand away once I've regained my senses and I swim up on my own time.

I gasp for air once I reach the surface. The first thing that hits my senses is the cold air, then, the loud noise of a busy town. In front of me, Aaron's head pops out the water as well. His blond hair is now wet and matted—he's returned to his own form.

I keep gasping for air. It takes a moment until I could finally form words. "What just happened?"

Aaron doesn't respond immediately, he keeps turning around to scan the area. "We're in London!"

"What London?"

Aaron points to the distance. There indeed stands the London Eye, its bright lights splitting the dark of the night like a beacon. "As in London, London", he adds.

"What the- what?!"

Aaron groans in an exaggerate way and rolls his eyes. "Congratulations, you really have a knack of messing things up you know? If you listened to me and keep kicking we would've ended up in a nice warm room with kindling fire instead of in a middle of a river. You're such a troublemaker, you know that?"

I definitely recognize my fault. I can't help feeling guilty. "I'm sorry!"

Aaron groans again and turns away to scan the area again. He says, "Never mind your fuck ups, at least we're in London, some place bearable!"

Flabbergasted, I react, "We're _miles_ away from Luna Nova! How is this not a… mess up?"

Aaron suddenly pulls my cheek hard and scolds, "If the portkey felt like it, it could've spat us out in the middle of the Atlantic, now can you start being grateful?"

He lets go of my cheek, I rub the unpleasant sting away. Aaron already swims away and says, "Let's get the hell out of here, the water's getting colder and colder".

Just as he said that, a boat's searchlight shines towards us, blinding us and stopping Aaron's progress. It's a small personal boat. Once it gets closer, a man exits its helm and calls to us, "What are you two boys doing in the middle of the river?!"

"What do you think we're doing, we're drowning!" Aaron says.

"Can you be polite, for one second of your life?" I tell Aaron.

We both climb on to the small boat. Our drenched clothes wet its clean decks. We find that there's no one else on it other than our timely saviour. The man offers us blankets for each of us and sits us down.

"How did you two end up here…" The man eyes our wet clothing—they answer his question. He says, more of a statement than a question, "You two are wizards?"

"Does that answer your question?" Aaron asks with an amused smirk.

He shakes his head and proceeds to retreat to the boat's cabin. From inside, he shouts, "Doesn't matter, even if you answer I doubt I'll understand—it'll make me even more confused!"

In no time, the man returns with warm cups of tea. He later returns to his wheels and prepares the boat to leave. He turns to us. "You two, where do you want me to drop you off?"

Aaron doesn't answer. He clearly has no idea where to go.I stand up and walk up to the man. "24th Ogre Street; the place with the narrow flats and only has one Tesco in 50 metres".

The man nods in recognition. "That place has no place to dock a boat, but I'll find the closest dock to it".

I sit back down next to Aaron and finally drink my tea.

"Where's that?" Aaron asks. He seems somewhat impressed that I know something that he doesn't.

"A place of an old friend, Michelle's old friend. Do mind, he's pretty old, somewhat around my butler's age".

—

We're both sitting on an aged cushion sofa, in front of us is a wooden low table with all sorts of stuff mixed atop of it. Papers, books, and jars and cans of assorted cookies, they're all scattered across the table making a hefty mess. Though, I suspect one or two of those tin cans contain sewing kits instead of actual cookies.

It's a classic—the old switcheroo between cookies and sewing kits. It appears that every elderly folks around the world does that same thing somehow. It's as if they're all connected in some sort of hive mind. As if reading my mind, Aaron opens one of those cookie cans and is immediately met with disappointment.

Marcus Wright is the owner of this place. He's what most people would have in mind when someone mentions the word 'old'. Whitened and balding hair, odd sense of fashion, funny way of talking, and neat little glasses, he has them all.

Mr Wright works for the ministry and his position there makes cooperation with the Guardians often inevitable, more specifically on matters regarding archaeological and arcane history. His history with the ministry and the Guardians had earned him trust and many good friends from both of them, one of them being Michelle.

Under table I spot a few curious archaeological papers as old as the artefacts they talk about. Mr Wright places two cups of warm tea in front on them, as he does I have an unpleasant feeling that his hands would spontaneously tremble and spill the drink on the seemingly valuable papers. "I didn't expect visitors, not this late", He says. Mr Wright looks to each of us. "Sugar?"

"None for me, no", I smile.

Aaron looks disappointedly to his cup of tea. "I thought I asked for coffee…"

Without looking, I bump Aaron's hand with my elbow. He spills a bit of tea because of it.

I say, "Anyway! We're so very glad that you allowed us to crash in your place Marc- Mr Wright. We can't thank you enough".

Mr Wright shakes his head and smiles. He takes a seat on a sofa opposite of us and says. "You don't need to thank me. Taking a wrong turn in a Ley Line is quite unfortunate and I'm happy to lend a few spare beds for the two of you".

I bring the cup of tea to my lips. "Y-yes… taking a wrong turn in the Ley Line"

"It's been ages since I saw you and your teacher. How's she been? I heard she landed a new job somewhere".

"Luna Nova. She teaches a couple of subjects there".

"Well that's lovely, a school for witches. I wonder what sorts of things they teach there". Mr Wright remarks.

Aaron smirks and quietly mumbles. "Probably magic".

Mr Wright's gaze escapes us, he leans himself on the sofa and scratches his chin. "I've been trying to get my grandson to one of those fancy schools but he never listens. He's brilliant and talented I'll give you that, but he's too arrogant for his own good sometimes. Said the school's too boring for him!"

"Sounds like a brat", Aaron mutters under his breath.

Another quick elbow to Aaron's side does the job of silencing him. Ignoring Aaron's glare at me, I ask Mr Wright. "So will he be staying with us? I-I mean will we be staying with him and you here?"

Mr Wright blinks out of his own thoughts. "Why yes. Do mind him, he's quite a handful at times and quite nosy towards visitors".

Mr Wright continues, "I don't know when he'll be back. Admittedly I should put more careful eye on him but I've been busy as of late, got lots of paperwork to do for the folks back in the ministry, they're quite excited lately and I can't blame them".

A knock on the door cuts our conversation. Mr Wright stands up and walks over a few stacks of books scattered across the floor. "Excuse me for a moment".

He avoids many obstacles until he's finally out of the room, leaving only me and Aaron. Without wasting any moment, Aaron leans close to me and whispers. "I don't like it here".

I hush him down. "Don't say that! Thing's could've been far worse! Listen, its dark out, we should just rest for a day or two here, and then we'll figure a way out of here and back to our homes! Have you thought of a way to do so?"

Aaron's eyes search the ceiling as he tries to remember something. "He keeps his savings between the thick green book under his bed. Enough for a trip back to Blytonbury while spending the rest on frivolous things".

"Goodness gracious!" I half-whisper half-cry. "We're not robbing an old man!"

"I didn't even say we're going to rob him! Why are you so antagonizing?"

"You _were_ just kidnapping me".

The sound of quick footsteps cut our conversation short. We quickly distance ourselves and try to drink our tea as normal as we can. We see Mr Wright walking, or rushing, through the living room and into his room. He closes the door behind him and no sound can be heard for a moment. He then exits the room and walks through the living room again and out of the apartment, a wooden box cradled on his hands. He offered not a look or word to us.

Aaron and I exchange looks. We're not sure what to make of that. Before I could say anything, Aaron is already on his feet. He goes to the window and looks down, towards the building's front door. Despite myself, I follow what Aaron is doing.

"Who do you think that is?" Aaron asks, pointing.

I follow his direction and see Mr Wright talking with a man, one that I do not recognize. He's tall and perhaps in his early 30s with brown curly hair. He wears a trilby that completely hides his face from here.

"This isn't right. This isn't really our concern", I voice my opinion. I return to the couch and slump down.

Aaron's eyes are still glued to the two, yet he still converses with me.

"Really, this isn't the time to goof around. We need a plan. _I_ need a plan", I say.

"Is there supposed to be one? We're not in a race against time, you know?" Aaron says.

I feel myself urgently wanting to correct him, him and his carefree attitude, but Aaron is quicker with his follow up. He turns to me, "Are you worried with the fact that you mysteriously teleported to London? Don't! Honestly I don't think anyone in the school, your hot personal teacher included, would care—they're witches! What happened to us is relatively normal in their book!"

I feel myself pausing as I stare blankly at the ceiling. He's not wrong. Am I overthinking things again?

Aaron places his hands on his hips and says, "Listen, I know you don't like me, and I you equally, but we're both at a loss here. Don't you think we could do with a little peace here? London is a pretty chill place all things considered and we should be chill, stop overthinking things".

I slump further down the couch and say nothing. Aaron doesn't say anything either, he turns and looks out the window again.

My eyes are planted on the ceiling. The ceiling fan creates fast shadows on it, almost hypnotizing. This adrenaline pumping day must've taken a toll on my energy as, before I knew it, I fall asleep.

—

The sound of wood scraping against each other forces me awake. I open my eyes but don't see much difference than closing them—the room's pitch black. I have no idea how long I've fallen asleep, only that I've been in the same position for a long time that my neck hurts. The sound doesn't come again, leaving my drowsy mind wondering if that was dream. Before I could drift into the land of slumber again, however, the sound comes again—it's a door being opened.

It takes time for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. I spot Aaron on the sofa across me, sleeping peacefully in a messy manner, a blanket rests over him. I stand up from the sofa. My legs and neck feels stiff. I walk to the direction of the noise, wondering who could possibly cause that.

I turn to the small corridor that leads to the flat's door. I round the corner and stop once I hear the sound of the lights being switched. Even more so, I freeze when I see someone I don't know on the doorway. A young boy, perhaps a year or two below my age stands in front of me, equally frozen in place. The boy has bright blue eyes and his hair was straight and dark. An oversized pair of goggles hangs precariously on his forehead. I lose my shock once I realize who he is.

"Ah, you must be Mr Wright's—"

The boy, however, shows much less composure than me. He was quick with his hand and has his wand trained towards me before I could even blink. Before I knew it, a bolt of crackling electricity shoots out from the boy's wand. It sends me tumbling down the floor, my body twitching from the shock.

"W-who are you? A burglar?!" the boy cries.

And guess what? I couldn't feel my limbs at all! Try as I might, I wouldn't even be able to answer his question.

"A-answer me!" the boy cries again, unaware of what a paralyzing spell does to a person.

I hear footsteps coming from the living room. Soon, I see Aaron popping his head into view.

"Can you keep it down?"

The boy trains his wand at Aaron but doesn't shoot. What manner of favouritism is this, universe?

Composed enough, this time the boy asks questions before shooting. "Who are you two, what are you doing in my flat?"

Soon, Mr Wright also arrives at the corridor as well. The boy immediately eases once he sees him. It doesn't last long though, it disappears completely once the realization sets in. "Oh my god I forgot you called me about these guests!" the boy cries.

Mr Wright sighs. Aaron glances at my paralyzed self. He laughs. I inwardly scream.

—

This is my second day in London, just half a day ago I was enjoying my free time at my new school, and now I found myself in this new morning in a new place, following the grandson of Michelle's old work friend into a densely packed shopping district filled with merchants showing off their wares that only wizards and witches would buy.

The boy goes by the name of Amadeus, or Amadeus Montgomery Watson if you have the time.I follow him into a tall and narrow building, sandwiched between two larger stores. It's a Chinese witchcraft store, judging from its painfully obvious Chinese architectures. Inside an Asian man stands behind a counter busying himself with a ledger, he doesn't bother to look up when he addresses us. "No, Amadeus. When I said I'll restock the Dawi lumbersteel next week, I really meant I'll restock the Dawi lumbersteel next week".

Amadeus tilts his head. "Why do you think I'm here for those?"

The Chinese man looks up from his ledger for a brief second. "We also ran out of Reverse Hyper Kinetic Particle Matrix Arranger, very sorry".

I move out of the way when one of the store clerk needs to carry a crate into the room. I can't help but notice how similar looking the clerk is to the man behind the counter.

"Pretty quiet today", Amadeus remarks.

The man looks up again. "Yeh boss, lots of people got hired for that big party downtown tonight, yours truly included".

I have to move out the way again when two new store clerks enter the building carrying crates. I had to double check on them each since I swear he looks the exact same as the previous workers and the man behind the counter.

I have to pause my confusion when I find Amadeus already on his way out the store, following him, I ask. "What's up with this party anyway? Been hearing about it over and over and over".

Amadeus blinks. "There's a pretty big party tonight. They said the Alistair expedition group managed to excavate some important magical artefacts not long ago, wanted to exhibit them tonight".

As we leave the vicinity of the store, I look around and make sure no one from the store is within earshot. Leaning towards Amadeus, I whisper. "This may sound… bizarre, but I swear all the workers in that shop looks exactly the same".

Amadeus seems unsurprised by my question. "That's because they're only one person. They're magical clones, Wang's".

I blink a few times at that revelation. "I've heard that kind of magic before, didn't expect to see one for the first time today!"

"Well, I didn't expect to meet another wizard today too", Amadeus looks to me, an amused smile on his lips.

"Are we really that scarce?"

Amadeus shrugs. "Even at school there's far less boys compared to girls, it's starting to get old".

"School? You enroll in a wizardry school too huh, which one?"

"My last one?" Amadeus asks, earning a raised brow from me at that remark. "Well, my last school was Candleton's school for witches and wizards, mostly witches. I just don't find that place fitting for me".

"I heard that you have some problems with school and stuff".

"I guess", Amadeus shrugs, walking ahead of me with his hand rested behind his head as he recalls his schooling experience. "They're just so annoying at times and they never let me do what I want to do. I sort of get those things about 'talent without direction' or 'talent without caution', but they've been telling me this and telling me that for so many times it's starting to grow old".

By the time we finished our errands the sun had already set, Aaron was waiting impatiently when we returned. I first thought he's being unusually kind when he takes our heavy bags, but it turns out he does so just so he can grab the food we bought as quickly as possible. "Took you long enough", he says while munching his lamb kebab. "There's someone in the living room, by the way. Been talking to your old guy, I think he's trying to sell him something".

"Are you always this way to strangers?" I narrow my eyes at Aaron. He merely shrugs and continues his meal.

From inside the living room, we hear an unknown voice, barely audible. "Do think about it. My father would appreciate it if you could come tonight".

The door opens and out comes the mysterious guest. He nods to us but doesn't say a word, quickly making his way out of the flat. He looks familiar—he's the person Mr Wright was talking to just the other night. Amadeus and I enter the living room to find Mr Wright reading a letter, its expensive looking envelope left opened on the table. "Who's that?" Amadeus asks.

"Just an old friend". Mr Wright says without looking up. "Wanted me to come to his party tonight, I'm sure you know which".

Amadeus's eyes quickly lights up at the news. "Awesome! Finally we'd get eat something good".

"No, child, this is for one person only", Mr Wright says, waving the letter.

Amadeus quickly loses his smile.

Mr Wright seems to be in haste. He takes his coat and hat from the hanger and prepares to leave. "I'd love to stay here and argue about going there or not but unfortunately I have something I must do first before I'm too preoccupied by the party".

There's a long silence after Mr Wright leaves the building. Amadeus, unmoving and jaw hanging, is still somewhat shocked from not being able to join the party. I've no idea why the party's such a big deal nor really care enough to find out. I do sympathize with Amadeus, though.

It was Aaron who just entered the living room who first breaks the silence, he slides beside Amadeus and says, "You know… poor Mr Wright seems to have left the invitation here on the table. It would be unfortunate if someone were to… take it".

It was easy to silence him with a good slap on his back, he yelps as he nearly dropped his kebab onto the floor. "Take it easy", I say to Amadeus. "The food's probably not that good anyway".

"Don't take it easy", Aaron says after he recoveres. "I heard it's a damn fancy party, been the talk among the town's witches and wizards, and it's stupid to miss out on it. I want to go there myself. I mean, whole lot of rich people attending the event, you can bet there'll be mighty cuisine being served there! Not to mention they're exhibiting their recent archaeological finds there, I know I like the sound of that!"

Aaron swallows the last bit of his kebab and wipes his mouth with his sleeve. He crumples the trash in his hands and says, "So if my point hasn't come across yet, I'm going there and you should too, young man".

"If my point hasn't come across yet, there's only one invitation and it's not for any of us"." I say, hoping to stop Aaron plaguing the minds of the young boy.

Aaron groans. "Come on. Why are you so uptight? You're acting like being stranded in one of the most okay place on earth to be the end of the world. Why not just make some lemonade and make the best of our situation".

I say, "I thought we agreed we're going home tonight? I don't think I want to stay in this city any moment longer".

I turn to Amadeus. "No offense".

"None taken!" he replies.

"Why are you so urgent in getting back, anyway?" Aaron asks. "It's not like classes are going as usual—your school is on a break! _You_ should be on a break!"

"But still, I feel like I shouldn't stay here too long. _We_ shouldn't" I mumble as I play with my hair.

Amadeus had been silent, he seems to be deep in thought before he looks up and says, "I think Wang's helping the setup of the party, maybe we can get him help us".

"…That storekeeper person?" I ask.

Aaron smiles from ear to ear. He pats Amadeus's back and says, "Good man. You do that and I'll get myself ready".

"But how about getting home?"

"We can do it tomorrow, or any other day after this. The world's not going to end tonight, you know?"

The two quickly exit the room before I can say my concern to the idea. They're getting themselves ready for their little schemes, leaving me alone in the living room with nothing but the ever growing thought that this is all going to be a bad idea.

—

We arrive in front of a beautiful mansion with red masonry dominating its structure, a wide and well maintained garden stretches far. Multiple fancy motors are parked or stopping by the front entrance, where many neatly dressed individuals stand in wait to welcome the guests.

"This is a big party", Aaron says, clearly surprised. "Boy am I right to get you all here".

Having no idea where is where, the three of us wander without a clue for a while. Eventually, Amadeus found a way to the back of the mansion. It's the loading dock. Trucks are parked to load equipment for the event. Amadeus takes us to one particular old truck and knocks on its side. Coming out of the truck is Wang, the storekeeper from earlier, holding a large wooden crate with the word 'fragile' painted in black on it. Under the painted word someone seems to have written something with a black sharpie, it reads 'just like me'.

Wang arches his brows as he sees us. "What you all doing here, small boss man?"

Amadeus attempts to look as innocent as he can, which to his credit, he's doing a mighty good job. "We lost our invitations, can you let us in from the loading dock?"

It doesn't take long for Wang to notice his scheme, perhaps having faced it in the past. Wang shakes his head and clicks his tongue. "Nice try. But Wang, like all members of my proud family, is a man of integrity and loyalty".

Perhaps this too has happened in the past, as Amadeus knowingly pulls a 5 pounds note from his pocket and holds it in the air. "Perhaps this will change that".

Wang narrows his eyes at the bribe money. "We're also known to be immune to bribery".

"How about now?", Amadeus asks, adding another 5 pounds note to his hand.

Wang quickly snatches the money from the boy's hand. He says, "Dock 6 Section B. If anyone asks why you're there tell them you're from the Yang Ping fish market, they never want to deal with those kinds of folks".

Thinking we're finished, the three of us was about to pass the man only to find him blocking our path again. He magnificently blocks us by putting his foot on the wall in a painfully wide angle.

I don't know why I'm describing his pose…

"Say, you three haven't told me what you'll be doing inside" he says.

The three of us exchange nervous glances. It was clear that Amadeus didn't expect this level of competence from his old friend as he seems to be at a loss of ideas too. After a moment of hesitancy and nervous stares, Aaron takes the initiative and steps forward to answers for us. "That's classified, buddy".

"Oh yeah?" Wang quickly pulls out the 5 pounds note he just received. "Maybe this will change that".

Aaron hesitates, his eyes linger on the money but his hand stays by his side. "I don't know, buddy. It's _still_ classified…"

Again, Wang pulls out another 5 pounds note that he received. "How about now?"

The hesitancy in Aaron is completely gone, he takes the money in a blink of an eye and leans closer to his new buddy, his usual cocky smile plastered on his face. "We don't have any invitation to begin with but we sure as hell won't have that stop us from having the best dinner in our lives. You get me?"

My hand is already on my face before Aaron even touched the money.

—

Earlier before on our way to the main hall where the party is being held, I sternly reminded Aaron and Amadeus with that we're uninvited guests and that we should reserve ourselves from the food and avoid mingling with what Aaron called 'spoon-fed nobles' and risk being exposed, but as soon as the three of us lay eyes on the grand buffet laid on the fabulous long tables, my, and by extension, our worries are dramatically swayed. It's as if a choir of angels had descended from above and began to sing in a beautiful silky voice as we take a bite of the rich people's cuisine. Coincidentally, not far from the buffet is the stage for the musicians.

It's easily missed, but I think I saw Aaron shedding a tear as he slowly chews the sautéed lobster tails. Aaron would say, "This is it. You thought getting into an accident with me was bad? This is part of my plan all along!"

I myself was chewing the most delightful lasagne when Aaron taps my shoulder, pulling me out of my heavenly experience. He points somewhere across the crowd of guests and questions. "Isn't she from your school?"

Through the crowd of fancy clothed guest, I saw a girl with beautiful flowing blonde hair, she wears an excellent dark blue dress that matches well with her bright blue eyes. A sight that would make the common men's eyes glued. This isn't the case for me however, as instead I feel my lasagna nearly choking my aspirations.

Amadeus scurries up to me with a glass of wine. "I tried to find normal water but apparently this is what these people use to clear their throats".

I politely decline the offer and drown my throat with apple juice and try to regain my composure. It's bewildering, but not too unbelievable. Diana is high class, coming from a line of famed witches, or so I heard and reminded countless of times by Hannah and Barbara. The only thing unbelievable here is the terrible coincidence I found myself in.

"At least it's just one", I cough. "At least it's just Diana and no one else".

Just as I say those words, two girls suddenly walk up beside Diana. The first has straight black hair and wears a purple dress, while the second girl wears a warm orange dress that compliments her long auburn hair, it reaches down to her back and is tied neatly together by a yellow bow.

"P-Parker!" I nearly choke on my drink.

Aaron laughs at my misfortune, while Amadeus offers the glass wine to me again.

But who's the second girl? I don't believe I've seen her before. Maybe she's one of Diana's many friends I've yet to meet?

I push the thought away and return to the more pressing problem at hand: being spotted here would be super catastrophic, there's a chance that they'll realize we don't belong here and got us kicked out, ending our feast galore prematurely. Not to mention how awkward it'll be trying to explain how I got here—I can't exactly tell them what really happened!

We quickly turn our backs towards them and huddle together to discuss our possible options. "You sure they'll recognize you?" Aaron asks as he chews some caviar. "You're pretty forgettable honestly".

"This is not the time for that, Aaron!" I snap, feeling my patience dwindling by the minute. "And stop eating the caviars without anything else, they're decorative caviars!"

"Maybe you should act like you're your twin brother?" Amadeus suggests, glass of wine still on his hands.

As we bicker on without producing any worthwhile conclusions on what to do, one of the girls, the one that I didn't recognize among the three, approaches the buffet right beside us and starts browsing the food. She looks familiar! She must be someone from school, but I couldn't place my finger on who she is. In any case, if she's from school, she might know me thus posing the same threat!

Without warning, Aaron quickly ruffles my hair to a mess and pulls a thick pair of glasses seemingly out of thin air. He shoves them to my face, pushes me closer to the girl, and gives me a confident thumbs up. Behind Aaron, a guest stumbles around blindly with his hands searching in front of him.

"What are you—"

"Really? The caviar's already gone", the girl behind me says, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Turning around, I see her looking at the empty caviars with narrowed eyes. "It was there just seconds ago", she says.

I look behind me for Aaron and Amadeus but find them nowhere to be found, those bastards.

Swallowing hard, I turn to the buffet table. "M-maybe someone ate them", I stammer. "Without anything else, I mean. Scooped the decorative caviars and ate them".

The girl's attention turns to me, obviously wasn't expecting me to actually respond to her monologue. She eyes me curiously and asks, "Why would anyone eat the decorative caviars?"

I run a hand to the back of my head, searching for a good answer to save me. "W-well, weren't you searching for the caviars yourself?"

The girl says nothing and just looks at me, her silence urges me to think that I've made the wrong comment and have offended her somehow. Even looking at her now, I couldn't make up the details of her face—it's blurred by these pair of glasses—so I can't tell what face she's making.

Regardless, I could tell the girl's narrowed her eyes. "Have I met you before?"

"There's absolutely no way", I respond almost immediately, too abnormally quickly. My mind quickly races to find a follow-up, fearing she'll keep scrutinizing my looks if I delay too long. Swallowing hard, I say before I think, "I-I would've remembered if I met someone like you".

Silence.

My mind went blank before and after I said that. _I_ said that. The girl and I share stares, the latter much more shocked by what's said than the former. Among the two of us, it wasn't the girl that goes beet red out of embarrassment.

"I'm gonna go… over there…" I point somewhere randomly and scurry out of the conversation, never looking back.

—

Aaron hums as he takes another kebab from the kebab stand. He leans on the wall and takes a bite, the warm sauce coupled with the chewy lamb meat meets his taste buds, he closes his eyes as he takes all the flavours in and thanks god that he's alive to enjoy it. So invested he was with his lamb kebab that he failed to notice me sitting slumped on a chair beside him.

"What happened to you?" he asks.

"Don't", I answer, he shrugs and takes it all too literally and continues his meal.

"I'm going to hit the pasta corner if you're cool with that", he says, completely indifferent to my suffering. I don't need to answer before he already permits himself into the pasta corner.

As I slump further on the chair, lost in contemplation of what I did, I notice someone approaching me from the corner of my vision. I was too late to recognize him in time: it's the man that earlier visited Mr Wright. From his knowing look, I'm sure that he'd already recognized me.

"So you're here", the man arches his brows. "I didn't remember giving you an invitation".

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I tense and stand up, but before I can explain myself, the man waves his hand casually. "Ah, forget about it".

He proceeds to bow lightly and introduces himself. "I suppose I should've done this earlier, I'm Rudolph, Rudolph Alistair, at your service".

Realizing this is supposed to be the moment to return the introduction, I try my best to introduce myself as politely as he did his. Bowing lightly, I say. "Jericho… Franklin, Jr., a-at yours".

I'm surprised to find Rudolph's expression ease to a smile. "I'm not going to throw you out for being here. It's a crime to deny someone from knowledge they so crave. That's why you're here, no? You're here to see the artefacts".

That's right, I remember everyone saying what this event is truly for. While our only motives to be here was the food, the party is for an exhibition of arcane artefacts this family managed to excavate.

Aside from being honestly curious of what those arcane artefacts are, I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to have a better reason to be here than to just eat.

"Yes", I answer with a plain face.

Rudolph nods, almost solemnly. "I have to say I'm glad to hear that. Despite the overwhelming amount of guests you see around us, only a few of them really cares for the right magical artefacts, most of them only have their eyes on the ones that shine the most".

"The right ones?"

A smile forms on Rudolph's lips. "That's what my family focuses on their excavations. There're so many magical artefacts throughout history: Excalibur, Pashupatastra, Gram, Taming Sari, Sword of Attila, they're only a few of many artefacts our predecessors had used to turn the tides of the world. Some even believe that they could still hold the power to change the world today. Unfortunately, all of them are lost today. It's a shame that, today, not many are interested in them _or_ finding them. Hell, not many are interested in magic anymore, so I guess that's the reason why".

"You believe they exist? You believe they're still around somewhere?" I ask, knowing well to hide my scepticism. Even among the witching society, a society that deals with magic daily, the idea of ancient magical artefacts are sometimes questioned—they're too convenient, borderline childish to believe in, and are most often times works of fiction.

This man mentioned that some even believe ancient magical relics could change today's world. They sound like a bunch of desperate individuals.

A smile finds its way to Rudolph—if only he could hear my scepticism.

"We won't be having this party if we didn't", he says.

It seems that there's many more the Alistair wanted to say, but I notice his attention shifting elsewhere when his name is called by a guest. They beckon to him and Rudolph made sure to bid me farewell with another polite bow before making his way back to the heart of the party.

"Enjoy the rest of the evening", Rudolph says with his back turned to me. "And don't shy yourself away from the food. They're expensive and I don't want them wasted!"

I'm amused by him. Lately all I hear among witches and wizards is the depressing decline of magic, so that man, despite slightly too naively optimistic in my opinion, is a welcome sight. I didn't expect to meet someone so enthusiastic about the restoration of the golden age of magic tonight.

With that over, I would love to continue with the food, but realize that Aaron and Amadeus have been out of my sight for a bit too long. Begrudgingly, I leave the buffet and search the room for the two troublemakers, all while avoiding crossing paths with Diana and her friends. I found Aaron at the corner of the room leaning on a buffet table, drinking and observing the crowd of guests in silence. He notices my approach and gestures to the punch sitting on the table. "The red one's taste pretty good, don't know what they are though".

"You drink them before knowing what they are? What if they contain alcohol or something?"

Aaron gives me an amused look. He gives me a half-smile and asks, "Why would I worry if it does?"

It's evident that his question was a rhetorical one as he's immediate to refill his cup once it's emptied. "Anyway, did anything interesting?"

I arch a brow. "You mean after you left me? Nothing, I didn't meet anyone interesting. Where is Amadeus?"

"He got bored with everything and went wandering around, I don't know". Aaron nonchalantly answers.

"And you didn't look after him?"

"What am I, his brother?"

Aaron gulps down the rest of the cup's content and places it on the table. "Anyhow, apparently the artefacts were displayed early in the party and we seem to have missed it entirely. They're all probably backstage being ready to be packed and secured in some cold and dark place, or they're already shipped somewhere that we don't know!".

I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "And you still want to see them?"

Aaron smiles. "You know me so well".

—

It doesn't take long for Aaron to locate the artefact exhibition room. Apparently about an hour ago the guests were taken here to see the artefacts on display, but now that they're busy feasting on the main hall, the exhibition room is quite empty save for a handful of securities near the entrance that Aaron easily slipped through.

I can't say the same about myself though, I nearly messed the whole thing up if it wasn't for Aaron's timely help. I'd thank him, but I fear he has a recorder tucked somewhere in his pockets ready to record my words.

The reason for our stealthy entrance is because if a normal person were to visit this room, he'll have to present his invitation to the security person in front of the door so that they can keep track of who's in and out. But since we're far from normal, we're left with no choice but to sneak through. At this point, I don't know why I'm allowing myself to follow Aaron's daring misadventures. What I keep telling myself is that he'll go do these crazy stuff with or without me anyway and that if left alone without my supervision, there's a higher chance he'll cause more trouble.

Like a kid in a candy store, Aaron skips around the room and presses his face to the glass displays that contain the artefacts. He never lingers long in one display, always switching to the next one with endless rush of excitement. One display catches the blond's attention. He stops by it and spends some time studying the artefact within. "These things are valuable beyond belief and these people know it. They wire these things nicely, especially this one, probably knowing that people would kill to have these things".

"Have you ever?" I worriedly ask.

"Of course not, silly" Aaron gives me an incredulous look. "I may be a two timing bastard who loves magical items to an unhealthy extend but I have my moral integrity".

He continues with a mischievous smirk, "Speaking of morality, I bet you have a mighty one considering you're living under the same roof with hundreds of pretty witch girls".

The topic came so quick it caught me off guard. I find my cheeks growing a blush red. "Yeah, I guess so".

Aaron doesn't let his mischievous smirk die. "You have no idea how many boys would kill to be in your shoes".

"It's not like they won't let anymore in".

Aaron shakes his head. "No, no, I'm already engaged somewhere else".

During our conversation, I notice an odd spot inside one of the displays. One of the pedestals seems to lack any artefact to display. Before I can point that out to Aaron however, the sound of shouting from outside the room cuts our conversation to a halt. The shout was loud yet indiscernible. We duck behind the cover of a large wooden table just in case someone walks in on us. There's few more shouting and loud footsteps, but we're relieved to find that they soon die down and the room goes quiet once again. We decided that whatever's going on out there, it doesn't concern us so we both exit the table and continue.

"Speaking of your school, there's a Cavendish enrolled in it". Aaron remarks.

"Diana? Yeah, I heard she's quiet the big deal. I don't fully know why though".

Aaron shrugs. "Rich, smart, hot, talented, well-mannered, proud noble lineage that dates back thousands of years with a history of influential people from her family, you know the usual stuffs. Oh, and did I mention she's hot? They have that kind of witch in their ranks, but then there's you".

I chuckle. "Hey, I have my fair share of amazing feats".

The lights suddenly flicker, interrupting our conversation. We first try to ignore it, but as the flickering grows in frequency and duration, it soon became clear that whatever is causing it won't stop anytime soon. There's shouting again from outside the room, forcing us to find a place to hide again. We both push ourselves behind one of the tall wooden pillars and peek at the door.

"What's going on?" I ask. "Do you think they know someone's here?"

Aaron says nothing and keeps his eyes on the door, trying to listen to the shouting outside.

The lights suddenly go out completely and the room goes dark save for the faint moonlight seeping through the windows above. I yelp out of surprise and quickly cover my mouth.

There's no more sound coming from outside the room and we both grow confident enough to exit the cover of the pillar. Aaron runs up to the door and tries to open it but to his dismay finds it locked from the other side.

"The blackout must've messed with the electric locks", I say.

"That's ominous as hell".

I look around for other ways to exit the room while Aaron tries to work on his magic, only to find no magic flowing into his coins.

"There must be some problem with the flow of magic or something in this room is dampening your magic. Security reasons I presume", I say.

Aaron narrows his eyes at me. "That's a long way to say: we're fucked".

In the end we settled with a small window hanged high on the wall as our exit. Considering my athletic skills compared to his, Aaron had decided its best for me to stay put. He climbs up the wall with no apparent difficulty and looks down towards me once he reaches the window.

"Don't leave me hanging here, Aaron".

He replies with nothing but a smirk before he squeezes through the window and vanish out of sight. Now there's just me, alone and locked in this dark room I'm supposedly not allowed to enter. I'd be terrified with the idea of Aaron actually leaving me here but knowing him and his shenanigans I shake it off and wait patiently.

Sure enough, the door finally clicks open. Aaron holds it open with a disappointed look. "I thought that was going to scare you".

Intertwined between his fingers is an expensive cigar. I know he didn't have it before he left my sight so I give him a look. He picks up on this and says. "They distribute it to the guests".

I say nothing and keep my eyes on him.

"Fine, fine, it wasn't!" Aaron gives up, lifting his hands in defence. "I'm going to leave it sheesh!"

On our way back to the main hall, we find a small crowd has gathered in the middle of the hallway. Among them I spot Rudolph alongside a handful of guests, confused and worried for the right reason. Rudolph is currently trying to coordinate the guests and answer as much answers as he possibly can, he urges us to postpone our own when we approach him. I look to Aaron who only shrugs in reply, equally bewildered as I am at the situation.

Alongside these guests are men who from their gears and clothing suggest they are the family's private security force. I'm somewhat impressed when I notice that instead of firearms, these men have wands tucked in their belts.

Rudolph finally turns his attention from the guests and waves his men off before addressing the two of us. He bites his lip and wears a worried frown. "I heard there's some problem going on with the Ley Line, must be connected with the outage. I'll take you two to the courtyard, the rest of the guests will be there".

"We shouldn't though", I interrupt Rudolph. "We have a friend still somewhere in the building".

"I'm sure he'll be fine. You two need to join the other guests outside".

"You don't understand, sir. This friend of ours is easily confused and might hurt himself". Aaron says, surprising me with this rare support of my point.

Whether it's his own consideration or merely the fact that there's too much problem at hand to spend the time arguing, Rudolph nods and agrees with us. "Very well, look for him and only do that. Do not wander around".

The previously beautiful and awe-inspiring hallways have become dark and haunting. We hasten our search, not intending to linger in a growingly grim place. On our way searching for the boy, I come across a window overlooking the now dark main hall where the banquet took place earlier. It's empty save for a handful of uniformed men walking in confident steps towards the exit of the hall.

"Seriously. If I find anyone, anything, that's responsible for this blackout, I'll murder him".

"Even if its mother earth?" I ask.

"I'll find a way", he says, passion burning in his eyes. Aaron seems disgruntled that his feasting had been interrupted, to say the least.

I say, "Anyway, I've been thinking about it. I think we should split up, might find him better if we do".

Aaron whistles "Famous last words~".

"The quicker we find him the quicker we'll get out of this mess", I point out.

"Look, I know you're dumb and all, but does splitting up sound like a bright idea to you?"

I pause and stare at him for a while, trying to decipher what he's trying to imply here.

I yell at him, "Are you scared? Good baby Beatrix, we're just splitting up!"

—

It was only after I checked a few rooms that I come across the artefact display room Aaron and I visited mere minutes ago. Oddly enough, unlike before there's no presence of security guards nearby and the door's unlocked just like Aaron left them in our escape. Inside is pitch black.

"Amadeus, you here?"

I search the room briefly and as I expected find nothing to note inside. I turn around and start to leave, but I stop when I hear heavy footsteps coming from outside coming from the hallway.

The door to the room swings open and the sound of heavy footsteps fill the entire room.

The footsteps are strong and sure, that must be the security. I make up my mind and walk to their direction, intending to find help in finding Amadeus.

I open my mouth, but before I could say a word, the sound of glass breaking makes me flinch and shut my mouth. The sound is followed by more rushed footsteps and talking, quiet and professional-sounding.

Something made me stop my advance and hide from view. I hide myself behind one of the many pillars supporting the room.

There're many glasses in this room, windows, lamps, and display cases, but only the last are reachable from down here.

Before I even know what's going on, I already start feeling nervous. Beads of sweat trickle down my neck. Instinctively my body already knows something not's right before my mind can even comprehend it. My imagination had always been strong, but this isn't the time I wish its reality.

Curiosity got the better of me. I peek out my cover quietly and see not a group of mansion security, but rather a group of neatly dressed men with elegant masks covering their faces.

My suspicion was true; that sound was the glass displays being broken. These masked men continue to break the many glass displays one by one, their movements are quick and precise, it tells me that they know exactly what they're doing. I didn't understand what was going on until I notice empty duffel bags they carry. I felt my heart skip a beat when I did.

Holding back a gasp, I retreat behind the pillar and slump my back onto it. My breathing had become erratic and I could feel a peculiar nervous cold in my chest. I force my mouth shut with my hands in fear of breathing too loud.

Suddenly, I'm caught in a dangerous and confusing situation. What started out as a simple search through the mansion had made me cornered, hiding from these strange men while they pillage the mansion's displayed artefacts.

I force my mind to be rational, to try and think my situation through—I know I'm in danger and it's no time to panic and be indecisive—but I couldn't. Any attempt to settle my mind falls apart alongside the breaking of the glasses that never seems to cease. I couldn't think of anything, I couldn't do anything, I just stay silent, my hands never leaving my mouth as I try my best to muffle my breathing. My chest beats like a drum. I'm sweating profusely, frozen as I stare silently at the walls in front of me, afraid to make any movements as if any slight ones would give away my situation.

These are real treasure hunters. They're the real thing.

I don't even try to think of doing anything to stop them, the only thought occupying my mind is that of how to stay hidden or escape this hellish situation. The idea of stopping these people, real criminals, is laughable. I couldn't hope to make any difference in this situation even if I try to, both because how abysmal my magic is compared to real wizards and how dangerous intervening will be. What good, really, will trying to stop them do for me? I'll just put myself in unnecessary danger that offers zero gain for me.

I look to the doors—the only exit for the room—it's heavily guarded by the treasure hunters. I'll go nowhere anytime soon.

I just have to stay silent and pray they go away. I'm not a star of an action movie or the main protagonist of an epic novel. I'm a regular person that knows intervening in a dangerous situation won't bring me anything but danger.

I silently gasp, surprised, when one of the treasure hunters finally breaks the tense silence with words.

"One's missing", one of them, a man of great stature says. His companion next to him, a tall and lithe built man, turns to him.

"It's not, keep searching".

The larger man scoffs and brings his drink to his lips, a colourful can of soda—it greatly contrasts his menacing appearance. He finishes it and throws it across the room without a care, it bounces off a wall near me and clattering on the floor. Even the slight sound of it makes me flinch—the tense atmosphere really makes me jumpy.

"Don't be so uncivilized. You might trigger an alarm", I hear the lithe man says. The large man only grunts as a reply.

It was only brief, perhaps lasting only a second, but I noticed the lithe man's worried glance towards one of the displays when he scolded his teammate. It tells me that one is positively protected by an alarm system.

The treasure hunters continue raiding the artefacts in good time, but some of them stops as they set their eyes on the tall glass display, the same one that Aaron drooled over earlier and the one I just recently know to be alarm-rigged. They seem hesitant to make a move for it.

This tall display appears to be quite a challenge for the treasure hunters, judging from the wave of relief that washes over them when they finally retrieve the artefact within. The large and stoic man himself bears a silent sigh while the lithe man maintains his gaze on the glass display, cautious yet still relieved that the retrieval didn't trigger any alarm.

As this unfolds, my gaze is locked on quite the unimpressive soda can. It stopped not far from where I'm hiding.

Before I even know why, I feel a surge of hope surging through me just by staring at the discarded can as it brings me a singular thought, an idea, that's so simple yet terrifyingly effective.

Suddenly I feel like being a hypocrite. I'm aware of how scared wordless I am just earlier, and I'm aware how much I told myself how dangerous this situation is and that I shouldn't intervene in any way, but what's in front of me can change everything.

My heart doesn't stop beating like a drum, it only goes faster. My hands finally leave my mouth, I grit my teeth unconsciously. I make a move, scared but determined.

The treasure hunters continue their careful extraction on the other artefacts, unaware of me as I escape my hiding spot. Taking advantage of their tunnelled visions, I crawl ever slowly towards the discarded can, keeping myself low and hidden in the dark.

The cold marble floor feels unpleasantly cold against the palms of my hands, damp and cold from all the nervous sweats. I don't dare to even look away from the can and towards the treasure hunters. Often times I would pause, freeze in my place when I hear noises coming from the treasure hunters, and would very nervously continue my crawl once I'm sure they haven't spotted me yet. My heart never ceases beating like a drum. It only grows worse, pounding against my chest without pause and threatening to burst out of it at any moment. The distance between my hiding spot and the can was abysmal, but the slow crawl towards there felt like it lasted for cruel long years.

As I get closer, I grow impatient, wishing nothing but end this heart pumping experience. My crawl grows quick, too quick, and I'm punished when I place my hand too hastily on the floor. The smooth marble floor, coupled with my sweaty hands and shaky limbs, made me lose my balance and fall to the floor. My mind immediately goes blank as my whole body meets the floor, and I feel my heart skip more than a beat once I realize that made a sound.

Terror filled my being. I couldn't move a muscle as I'm frozen in place, scared beyond words. I'm prone on the floor, unable to think of anything but be terrified of what I've done and what will come for me now. I bite my lips so hard it threatens to bleed to force any sound from escaping my mouth.

My mind reels, thinking this is the end, that they've heard me. But they didn't. The treasure hunters are still focused on their action, while the others are quietly speaking with one another, unaware of me at all.

I would've sighed loudly, but I hold it back. Not wasting this miracle, I push myself up and continue my crawl until I reach the can. Grabbing the can tightly with unsteady hands, I didn't even have time to thank God as I immediately find a place to hide and prepare my next move.

The treasure hunters had been focused on their work, yet that immediately changes when they see the discarded can gliding across the floor towards them. For a moment, the world seems to pause; no sound in the world emitted, and no movement made aside from the solitary gliding can. All the treasure hunters were at first just silent, staring at the object blankly in confusion with no reaction. That confusion and silence is soon upturned into full blown terror when they see where the can's going.

The lithe man races to it, yelling, "Stop it!"

But it was too late. The can reaches one of the emptied glass displays and a noise, a mechanical click, resounds across the room. It was low but it manages to silence everyone in the room. Instantly, the room grows loud with blaring alarm, red lights shine down on the treasure hunters and heavy metal cages begin to shut the many entrances of the room. The lockdown is in effect.

The treasure hunters are panicked and beyond confused that they've completely forgotten the bizarre intervention of the soda can. Their superior tries to organize them to no avail, they scramble all over the place trying to collect as much valuables as they can while searching for an exit that isn't shut tight. In an attempt to break through, one of them tries their magic on the wall only to find it bouncing helplessly off of the reinforced barriers.

Meanwhile I race to hide behind another pillar. With the blaring alarm, I let myself breath loudly once I arrive there, back slumped on the pillar and one hand pressed to my chest. I can't believe I just did all that.

It wasn't long until the lithe man decided to act, he pulls out a strange glowing stone from his pocket and holds it tightly. This doesn't go unnoticed by the man's large comrade whose worry begins to cloud his voice. "You can't use it here! It could destabilize—"

The lithe man interrupts him, "Better than being dead!"

The lithe man throws the stone onto the floor and it immediately erupts in a bright green light. When I open my eyes I'm no longer met with a dark room, but one lit by a sickly green light in the middle of it—a Ley Line.

The lithe man shouts order and the treasure hunters begin to organize and send the ones who carry the artefacts home first, followed by the rest. Despite the panic they're in, the treasure hunters surprisingly follow the lithe man's orders well and are making good time in escaping the room.

That is, until the door to the room suddenly bursts open, revealing a group of the mansion's security forces with their wands readied.

—

The entire room is like a literal battlefield. The treasure hunters are making their way to the portal with great difficulty as unnumbered amount of magical attacks fly overhead, lighting the dark room with endless colours as each streak by. The lithe man was about to enter it only to be struck by a stray lightning bolt. He falls hard on the ground, scattering his wand across the floor alongside a few mysteriously glowing stone, similar to the one he used to conjure the portal. One of the stones begin to glow uncontrollably, he immediately scrambles towards it and grabs the stone. Lifting it up, he shouts. "Vitriol, I summon thee!"

The ground immediately shakes and a burst of magic erupts from the stone. The fighting ceases as a bright green light fills the room and when it settles, a new figure appears in our midst, hidden behind a veil of dust cloud.

The dust cloud settles and the figure comes into view, he brandishes an axe, thick and heavy. His figure was gigantic, towering the average men. His apparel is as well bizarre, a full set of aged mail viking armour, giving the impression that this being is not of our time. Most curiously was how the figure seems to be ethereal, transparent almost, it seems that this thing is some sort of a summoned creature, an ancient viking apparition.

The whole world seemed to have paused at the strange sight, until the cries of the lithe man cuts through the momentary confusion. "Do what you're made for, cleave them!"

The apparition quickly obeys, swinging its axe wide to attack the security forces. One of them tries to fire a bolt of lightning at the apparition, only to find it glancing off its thick armour with no apparent effect. The apparition continues its rampage through the room. Ignoring friend or foe, it strikes left and right, sending splinters of wood and shards of glass flying as it cleaves the woodwork of the room with ease.

I know it won't be a good idea to stay in this room any longer. I start to try to escape the chaos, but find it nearly impossible to crawl a few feet before retreating to escape another bolt of magic.

I nearly reached for my wand when I feel someone yanking me by my hand, sending my heart leaping until I realize that it's Rudolph.

"You're not supposed to be here!" he shouts, his voice nearly indiscernible from all the fighting.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" was what I say—I've no idea why. In that moment I felt guilt overpowering my instincts.

Rudolph tries his best to get me out of the battlefield and into safety. Bolts of lighting and balls of fire whistle above us as we keep low and attempt our escape. The room's exit is only a few steps away, but unfortunately the green apparition suddenly catches notice of our escape. Its attention immediately shifts to us. Closing the distance with inhuman speed, it raises its axe and swings it in a wide arc.

I could only watch as the axe comes, unable to react, but Rudolph suddenly pushes me away. I fall, tumbling on the floor, missing the axe by only a hair's breadth, while Rudolph lifts his hand and suddenly a barrier appears to manifest in his hand.

It's easy to miss, but I realize that he wears a ring that glows with the spell, presumably it's a spell catalyst.

But the axe cuts through and breaks his defence. The ring shatters, breaking into uneven pieces upon impact that lands onto the floor, broken and shattered. From the weight of the attack, Rudolph is thrown to the floor.

The green apparition swings his axe upwards, it would've stroke Rudolph right in his stomach if he didn't pull out his wand in time to block the attack. The attack was too powerful however, throwing Rudolph's wand out of his hand and sending it clattering to the floor, leaving Rudolph wide open for the next attack.

I remain on the ground, indecisive on whether to run or assist Rudolph. Rudolph notices this and immediately cries, "What are you doing? Get the hell out of here, run!"

The green apparition violently grabs Rudolph by his neck and slams him into the floor with ease. Rudolph tries to kick and squirm but the apparition doesn't flinch, its burning green eyes locked into Rudolph whose gaze shifts to his wand on the floor.

I notice this and on pure instinct rush towards Rudolph's wand, ducking low from a stray bolt before tackling into the floor. At this moment, I'm grateful that I'm sensible enough to push the wand to Rudolph's reach instead of taking it for myself.

Rudolph grabs his wand and immediately aims at the green apparition's face. I lay low on the floor still, watching it unfold, fearing a stray bolt would catch me if I try to raise my head.

But a memory of how magic seems to fly off its armour begins to plague me with hesitation. Even if Rudolph have time to manifest his magic, I doubt I'll be powerful enough to harm it.

Before I knew it, I point away from the apparition and shout, "Aim it at him, Rudolph!"

Rudolph immediately sees where I'm pointing: the lithe man—the summoner.

Rudolph pulls his aim away from the apparition and turns it across the room, towards the lithe man standing near the portal with his wand raised, deflecting and returning the many attacks that's flying towards him.

Rudolph knew what he was doing. Instead of conjuring anything strong in this short amount of time, he uses a simple spell.

He fires a simple force spell that quickly connects with the lithe man. He was an easy target due to all the other spells that's coming his way that was distracting him. His spell doesn't do any serious harm but that's not what he was aiming for; the spell is enough to push him back far enough until he stumble and fall into the portal, vanishing from the room entirely.

The ancient apparition doesn't even need to release his grip on Rudolph. Surprisingly, it merely vanishes into thin air once its magical link is cut off from its summoner, as if it had never existed in this room in the first place.

His neck freed, Rudolph feels around it, coughing and writhing all the while.

The lithe man was the last of the treasure hunters to traverse the portal and was our last threat. The room begins to return to its dark state as the light of the portal dims, and similarly everything goes quite once the intruders had all escaped and the fight has ceased.

All becomes suddenly quiet. I'm then made aware of how loud and erratic my breathing is. I feel my legs weak, and I slump to the floor, wordless.

Rudolph's violent coughing pulls my attention towards him, breaking my daze. The first thing I do is preparing healing magic for him if needed, but I keep fumbling—my hands are trembling like crazy. But Rudolph quickly urges me to stop.

"I'm fine", he growls quietly through laboured breathes. "Fine enough to wait for the paramedics".

The few still standing securities have sent one of them to fetch help while the rest searches through the room to provide help where needed. One of them approaches Rudolph only for him to wave the guard away.

I was about to say something, anything, to justify my intrusion or why I'm even here in the first place, but I'm stopped when Rudolph grabs me by my hand and pulls me closer. I can tell the anger in his eyes. His voice is calm, but I detect his anger in it nonetheless.

"No one can know", he firmly says, his gaze locked on me.

I gulp. Endless questions begin to run through my head, questions that I crave answers this very moment. But looking at Rudolph's eyes, I have a strong feeling that I know too much than he would've liked me to know, despite myself not really understanding what _I've_ known.

Rudolph scans the now quieter room. The destruction is incredible, one could easily fail to recognize this room any longer, and to think that the bulk of the damage is caused by that strange apparition alone.

"What a disaster. These weren't all that we excavated, but they're still many and valuable".

Rudolph slowly releases his grip on my hand. He leans himself on a broken piece of furniture and tries to breathe deeply only to cough again.

Rudolph holds his hand up and urges me to listen closely. "If I don't have a request for you, I would've erased your memory right here right now, but right now I need you to do something for me".

I blink in surprise. His words brings me more questions than answers, out of them all there's only one that's burning inside me.

"W-wait, you don't want to erase my memory?"

Rudolph silently nods, not trace of hesitation in him. He continues, an almost desperate look on his eyes,

"Marcus Wright. He's in his possession an artefact, similar to ones that were here tonight. I gave it to him for his help in the past. I want you to tell him what you saw tonight".

"But I thought—"

"Just tell him. I'm worried that he'll be unaware of the importance of the artefact he holds".

Rudolph looks around the devastated room again. "God knows I didn't. I didn't expect them to be _that_ valuable that people would try to steal it like this!"

I nod slowly, somewhat still unsure. "Only Marcus, right?"

"Yes, only him". Rudolph then slumps down and groans deeply. "Oh Nines, just what will I tell the press?"

He looks back to me, his stern look returns. "This is a sensitive situation for my family. If news of what happens here breaks out, I can't imagine the disaster my father's company will go through".

I'm now starting to understand what he's going for.

"Ah, that kind of thing", I nod repeatedly. I make a zip-tying gesture on my lips. "I won't tell anyone. Not even high-paying journalists".

"Be serious", Rudolph scowls. "Be a good lad and get out of here, now".

—

Many guests had gathered into a crowd, observing the many men brought inside the ambulance in stunned silence and silent whispers.

I stand among the crowd, gazing at Rudolph resting on a gurney as he's tended by a team of paramedics. He was about to be taken into the ambulance when his gaze meet mine among the crowd and suddenly urges the paramedics to halt. He beckons to me to come and I tense immediately, fearing another session of scary if not ambiguous scolding from him.

"I never said thank you. You did… good ", Rudolph says in difficulty, as if each word takes a year of his life away.

With that finished, Rudolph nods to the paramedics and they begin to bring the gurney forward again.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding. I expected more, terrible scolding from the young Alistair I just met and barely knew, but I received this instead. While I still have zero idea what just happened tonight, those simple words really do wonders in setting me at east. I feel my chest easing just with those.

The last look Rudolph gave me was one of a tired smile before the door to the ambulance closes.

I huff out air. While confused with that last part, after seeing Rudolph and knowing he's fine and hearing his close to comforting words earlier, I feel better, if not just a little.

What happened was still surreal and unbelievable, but at least now I'm out of it.

I try to take a deep breath, both in attempt to level myself and as a start for my following long lines of thought on what happened tonight, but that attempt is cut short when I hear a familiar voice calling from behind me.

"Jericho, is that you?"

I visibly flinch at Diana's recognizable voice. I turn and find her walking towards me. This whole mess had made me completely forgotten about her being here, and seeing that she's already spotted me, there's nothing else to do than to just take it in stride. There's only one problem in that plan: I'm bad at improvisations.

"I-I can explain!" I say after an awkward pause on my part.

Diana's eyes go wide as soon as she sees my dishevelled self. It's at this point do I realize how much of a mess I look.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, quietly eyeing me up and down. I didn't need to answer her question right away as Diana seems to quickly shift her attention to my concerning looks. "What happened to you?"

I scratch my head, wondering just how to answer her questions. "I-It got pretty chaotic once everyone went panicking, me included".

Diana continues asking me questions, and despite the exhaustion I'm feeling I still can't blame her. It must be bizarre to find me in London, and in this time, place, and state nonetheless.

Her questions I reply mostly with silent and awkward gestures rather than words—I simply can't improvise good answers. Thankfully she soon realizes how tired I must be and urges me to go before apologizing. "You must be tired, I shouldn't bother you, forgive me. I need to head back too, Hannah and Barbara are beyond scared from when we were being evacuated".

Diana was about to leave when she suddenly stops and turn around. "Did you know why they evacuated the guests?"

"No! Just go away", I say shooing her, louder than I meant to be.

I see her off and almost breathe a sigh of relieve until I find somebody else walking up to me. Its Amadeus, his indifferent and clueless expression means that he's probably unaware nor affected by what really happened too.

"There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" He says. To my surprise, he still carries that same glass of wine, untouched. Behind him is Aaron, out of breathe.

I release a breath I didn't know I was holding all this time. All this crazy things happened and I didn't realize I was supposed to be worried about this little man.

"Can say the same thing about you. Where were you two this whole time?"

"I was bored and thought of joining you guys shortly after you left, but the lights went out when I was on my way and I was alone and the main hall was far and I forget where it is, so I start wandering around looking for a way out or somebody to help me with directions and got lost after that".

"You've no idea how long I searched for this guy", Aaron says between sharp draws of breath, pointing down to Amadeus's head.

I huff out air, amused at how none of them seems to know what happened tonight—no one knows. I stare towards the mansion, dark and abandoned, and my mind begins to clutter as I try to wrap my mind around all that's happened tonight.

It feels unbelievable that I'm the only one that knows what happened.

My silence might've come as odd for the two, as Amadeus soon asks. "You okay?"

I turn to him and say, "Y-yes, I am. Please take me to Mr Wright".


	10. The White Stone

Mr Wright was abnormally calm listening to my story. His attention on me was complete, but his lack of response or any visible reaction as I go on unnerves me.

He breaks his silence only after I finish explaining everything.

"They're treasure hunters alright, although, it's very rare for them to steal directly from someone. Often times treasure hunters are just grave robbers, raiders of ancient magical sites and relatively harmless. But this, this is most curious. A group of treasure hunters dared to storm a mansion in the middle of a party for a handful of artefacts. They must be quite valuable".

He gets up and walks somewhere. "The Alistair runs an archaeological company, though their archaeological aims are different from others, in the way that they focus more on ancient magical sites to work with".

When he returns, Mr Wright carries an old wooden box. Within its velvety interior is some sort of stone encased inside a pendant. It's a triangular shape with curved edges. The stone's a milky white colour. Its surface is polished, smooth and gleaming despite its supposedly old age.

He says, "You mentioned that you heard one of them say one artefact was missing, I believe this is it. It's the one Rudolph gifted to me".

Despite the overflowing questions that follows the overflowing information, only one stands out. "Why would Rudolph gift anything like this to you?" I ask.

Mr Wright shrugs lightly. "In truth, I've no idea".

I touch the odd artefact with my finger gingerly, as if any small mistake would break the artefact. Its surface is unpleasantly cold yet smoother than I expected. Its either kept its well-polished state all this years—an incredible feat—or its gone through restorations—an incredible feat as well.

"What is this, exactly?" I ask.

"A blood stone".

I retract my finger immediately. My eyes go wide.

"Blood?!"

Mr Wright nods, his eyes planted on the stone, studying it. He doesn't seem disturbed at all by the artefact on his hands. "It's a sorcery stone, a spell catalyst, just like a wand, only that it runs on something else".

I gulp.

Mr Wright, without looking, is aware of my nervousness.

"It's broken, don't worry. I've tested it".

"Tested it", I repeat, breathless. "You tested it how?"

Mr Wright blinks and looks up to me. He answers, "How else are you supposed to test it? I smeared a bit of blood on it and nothing happened".

I visibly fidget.

Now that I think about it, I regret even asking.

Mr Wright takes the stone near a lamp. "This is indeed a blood stone, they've existed ever since humans saw the magical potential in their blood, and that was close to the dawn of magic. They're a catalyst commonly found during the golden era of the Witch Kings. This one is made in nameless kingdom—its name and story lost to time—in Central Asia centuries ago. But now it's broken. If this thing's the same as what the treasure hunters stole, then they stole a bunch of broken, useless stuffs".

People committed to stealing these treasures, they took a big risk breaking into a mansion in the middle of a party, shouldn't they be certain of the pay-off of that risk—shouldn't they be certain of the treasures' values?

As if reading my mind, Mr Wright adds, "Or perhaps they knew they're broken but didn't care—they only see that they're treasures and would sell high".

"That brings us to a roundabout", I remark. "Rudolph wanted me to tell you all this so you would reconsider about keeping the stone".

"He's worried that it's dangerous to keep something coveted by treasure hunters?"

"Yes". I answer, confidently at first, but then my eyes begin searching the ground. "Or at least that's what I think of his request. We didn't exactly exchange many words".

Mr Wright straightens his back and looks somewhere across the room. "That reminds me. He left me with a letter the day he gifted me this".

Mr Wright stands up and goes somewhere outside the room, escaping my sight. Soon, he returns to the living room with a letter in his hand. Mr Wright lays the letter onto the table for me to read, it is written in a beautiful cursive, so beautiful that I keep tilting my head to read the damn letter.

"May I?" Mr Wright offers. I hand him the letter.

Clearing his throat and fixing his glasses, Mr Wright reads, "This one's a mystery: we only have a handful of information about it. We found it in our excavation in central Asia, in the ruins of the ancient city of Askara. Specifically, it was found in the treasure chamber of an underground tomb, a small section of the city's vast complex of interconnected underground temples.

We've ever since dubbed it the White Stone of Askara, or Askaris white stone, since we discovered it was a king named Askaris who ruled the city during the stone's creation.

We know it's a blood stone, but sadly it's long been broken, expired; and secondly, the stone tablet we found sitting beside it that has some sort of poetic story about it:

'The guardian of time lies powerless as the tides of blood becomes violent, blotting out the mighty sun and blurring her vision blind. Seek her and the day of the twin-tailed comet, the day where doorways open for those desperate to find salvation'.

Curious! I believe anyone would be willing to spend their life understanding that tablet if this stone isn't already broken and useless.

However, I know how much you're interested in what we found there, and I know how much you helped us over the years. Trust me, it's for that reason I gift this stone to you, not that it's broken and useless. I swear.

If you can, do not tell anyone about this gift—not your ministry friends, and not the Guardians, no one. I'd rather not have many people know that I gave you a taste of what my family managed to dig up. Some people are quite greedy!"

Mr Wright concludes the letter and folds it back. He takes off his glasses and says, "That's all he wrote".

For lack of a better word, that was intense.

I'm very surprised that, despite the near death experience just hours ago and the gravity of our conversation, I find the time to be humorous.

In my defence, this is a glaring plot hole in our conversation.

"That sounds very serious, especially the one where he asks you not to tell anyone about it", I say dryly.

Mr Wright doesn't share the humour, he doesn't even glance at me. Instead, he sombrely sighs.

"I wouldn't tell you if I wasn't going to ask you".

I frown immediately, not liking the way his voice shifts to a sombre tone.

"Ask me what?"

Mr Wright pauses, the words hanging on the tip of his tongue. His eyes shift from me to the door and he abruptly gets up and walks towards it.

"I want to make sure that I'm holding is truly a worthless souvenir and not some… thing that I shouldn't be holding".

I follow close behind him.

"But it's broken isn't it? Why would anyone want it from you?" I ask.

Mr Wright doesn't answer, he remains ominously quiet.

Though countless questions race through my mind, I decide to ignore them for now and follow Mr Wright for now.

Our attempt to leave the room was cut short when, as soon as Mr Wright opens the living room door, two figures comes tumbling through the opened door and into the floor.

Aaron and Amadeus now lie on the floor, the latter pinning the poor former on the floor.

Mr Wright and I stare at them with wide eyes, both of us equally silenced by the sight and the implication.

Between the two of us, Mr Wright is first to break out of his shock. He asks, in a hoarse whisper, "Were you two eavesdropping?!"

"It was his idea, sir", Aaron quickly rebuts, gesturing towards his tiny companion, the former looks unnaturally calm in this situation.

Amadeus stares at him with wide eyes that scream terror.

"I-I didn't! I tried to stop you!"

"If joining in after your curiosity got the better of you is trying to stop me, then yeah, you did try to stop me", Aaron says dryly.

I say nothing and look to Mr Wright, wondering how he'll react.

"How much did you listen?" Mr Wright asks, his calculating gaze directed at Amadeus.

Amadeus casts his head downward, his temple nearly touching the wooden floor. "E-everything, I'm so sorry!"

Beside Amadeus, Aaron groans inwardly and rolls his eyes.

Mr Wright sighs unevenly. I'd expected him to be furious of this trespass, if the whole 'keep this thing a secret from everyone even the ministry' told me anything.

Mr Wright's expression is unreadable. His voice is also level—I can't read through them. I have no idea how he feels about this trespass.

There's an uncertain pause, a lengthy one, before Mr Wright closes his eyes and says, "Save your apologies. Go and find Wang. Tell him I have a request, a paying one, for him".

Surprised at the sudden turn in the conversation, Amadeus asks, "Wait, you're not angry?"

"I'm not, I'm furious". Mr Wright says both with a flat look and a flat tone—none of us really knows the truth of his words.

Mr Wright glances at Aaron, he needn't say anything.

Aaron suddenly nods repeatedly, for once he seems scared of something.

"Alright, alright! We're going and won't say anything!" He says as he pushes Amadeus lightly in the back, towards the front door. "Let's go, to your Chinese friend, quietly!"

Silence befalls the two of us the moment the door closes. Only minute later, once we're sure no eavesdropping is in the process, are we brave enough to start talking again.

I open up with one of my trademarked bad and improperly-timed jokes to lighten up the mood.

"Well, that's keeping this a secret out of the window".

Or should I say door? Hah!

Mr Wright runs a hand through his face, pushing his thick glasses up to his wrinkled temple that starts to wrinkle even more. It's safe to say it's not a good time for humour.

Through the cover of his hand, he says, "At least now we don't need to go to Wang ourselves. And at least those two won't hear our next conversation".

His statement was oddly optimistic.

A sigh from Mr Wright surprises me. With a sombre look, he faces me and whispers, "I want you to keep the stone for me".

My eyes feel like they almost fall off their sockets.

"What?!"

My voice definitely cracked there.

Mr Wright continues, his calm tone and expression comically contrasting mine, "As I said, treasure hunters were somehow brave enough to steal artefacts like this one tonight. I don't feel safe about it".

I stare at him blankly, thinking I heard wrong, hoping, I heard wrong.

"You think they still want to loot this thing off you for the money so you want _me_ to keep it?! Wait, I thought you said this thing's useless!"

Mr Wright shakes his head urgently. "No. Well yes, but—"

"Which is it?! Yes or no?"

"You're correct in assuming I feel in danger, but you're wrong that I think this thing is useless. I believe those treasure hunters weren't just in it for the money, it was something else. See, this here is a magical artefact, or at least it was. But I think we're wrong on that one, I think we've overlooked something. Perhaps despite losing its capability for magic, this stone, this blood stone is not entirely useless".

Mr Wright breaks away, turning to reach for the letter. "It's like a key, a key to a door that we've yet to know and thus think the key to be purposeless, to be useless".

An uncomfortable nervousness soon follows like ice climbing up my spine. The way Mr Wright used his words just doesn't settle well with me.

It takes me a minute to break out of my shock. "You really think this stone isn't junk yet? You're that paranoid?"

"It's just a gut feeling". Mr Wright admits. "If I have time, I think I can research about it more. During that time, I want you to keep the stone; you are the most capable of keeping this stone safe".

I pause. I try to find any hint of humour in the old man's aged but calculating eyes.

"…You're joking, right?"

"No I'm not", he responds without delay. The letter on his hand becomes crumpled as Mr Wright clenches his fist. "I have a powerful believe that this stone is more than meets the eye".

He pauses after that. I keep staring at him intently, unblinking.

Despite him not having any proof, I can't bring myself to argue against Mr Wright's gut feeling. Something tells me he really knows what he's talking about.

"You're really certain there's more to this, aren't you?" I ask.

Mr Wright nods.

"If I have time, I could find out more, but I'm worried that I wouldn't be able to keep the stone safe here, in a flat. Jericho, you live in literally one of the safest place in Europe for wizards. Hundreds of capable witch students and dozens of talented teachers, not to mention the respectable security the school has maintained for years and years!"

My features contort at the thought of bringing such artefact to my dormitory room.

What I hate is that in the end, despite how terrible and ugly the idea is, Mr Wright is very right that, compared to him, my dorm room is much safer place to keep something valuable.

I stare at Mr Wright, his features are humourless. Then I look down and stare at the stone he's trying to shove to my hands.

I say, "So you want this stone to be somewhere safe, away from you, while you find out more about it. Why not just hand it over to the ministry, or the Guardians, that would be easy".

"I'd rather not have more people know I possess this stone", Mr Wright answers. "So far, only you, me, Rudolph, and those two troublemakers know about its current whereabouts, but that's about to change soon".

I sigh unevenly and study the stone again. "So let me get this straight, I just need to keep it?"

Mr Wright nods, "Precisely as simple as that. For a civilian like you, holding onto a magical relic without reporting to the ministry isn't illegal".

I look at Mr Wright in confusion. He soon elaborates.

"For someone in my position, receiving an arcane artefact without reporting to the ministry is already a breach of rules. If I were to continue keeping this stone, sooner or later I'll be obliged to tell the ministry I have it, least they'll punish me".

I blink a few times. "Huh, then, if anyone does find out about this stone and asks me about it, I could just say it's mine and not yours then".

Mr Wright nods, an amused smile on his lips. "Very smart, that way none of us would be in any legal danger".

A loophole in the rules, I understand now.

"I'll just tell them I found it in my school's labyrinth. So that's the legal dangers out of the way, but wouldn't it be dangerous to hold a stone that treasure hunters seek?"

"I doubt they knew this was gifted to me at all", Mr Wright says.

Mr memory justifies his confidence: I remember one of the treasure hunters thinking this stone is still in the Alistair's possession.

"There's also a chance that they actually no longer seek this stone since they thought it's gone for good and we're all just being overly careful", Mr Wright adds.

Truly after his persuasions I feel like this isn't too big as I thought it to be at first. Yes I saw people try to steal something akin to this, but as Mr Wright said, we could be overestimating the gravity of the situation or their tenacity. Not to mention only so little people know about the stone's current whereabouts, and even less on where it will be tomorrow.

"What about telling someone in the school, someone I know can help me keep it safe?" I ask.

Mr Wright shifts on his spot. From the thoughtful silence he has, I can feel that he's thought of this not too long ago. "Better not, really. We already have too much people knowing about this stone".

Considering one of said people recently tried to steal my school's treasures, I understand his sentiment completely.

Mr Wright once again returns to his serious look and tone.

"I know I can count on Amadeus, but can I count on him, Jericho?"

"I've no idea, but what I do know is that he won't return to Luna Nova. I've… convinced him". I say rubbing my fist.

Though he still looks unsure, Mr Wright nods. "That's… good, good enough. Anyway, as soon as I discover what this stone truly means I'll let you know right away, and if then I discover that it entails danger for those who keeps it, I'll tell you much quicker. Rest assured, I'll tell you everything I managed to find about the stone".

"I… understood. Just keep it close to me and tell no one else, yeah?"

A light smile graces his lips. "Then I suggest you make leave for Luna Nova as soon as possible", Mr Wright says. "Mr Wang will help you there. I'll cover his expenses, of course".

Mr Wright's expression eases and he places a hand on my shoulder, "Don't fret over it, boy. Your place is safe, I assure you. And as I said, who knows that maybe we're overreacting here. Maybe all this is much simpler than what we make it up to be. Maybe there really is no reason to worry after all".

I nod silently and look to the stone on my hand, wondering whether this is a bad idea or a terrible one.

The door opens and we stop our conversation, It's Aaron.

None of us says anything for a moment. Mr Wright and I are naturally awkward at the sudden arrival of the blond haired boy.

I hide the stone inside my pocket the moment I notice Aaron's gaze nearing it. He says nothing and soon redirects his gaze to Mr Wright.

"That Chinese dude is here", Aaron says casually.

"Well, I better go ahead downstairs", Mr Wright says to me, patting my shoulder lightly.

When Mr Wright is gone, the room goes to an odd silence. I speak nothing, my mind still cluttered with too many things.

Anything on my mind stops however when Aaron with his cocky smile remarks, "So, super ancient stone".

"Shut it, Aaron. Now's not a good time".

Aaron doesn't seem fazed, he says, mimicking Mr Wright's voice, "'No one can know'. I get it, I get it".

I sigh and slump down to the sofa. Aaron stays beside the doorway. The two of us says nothing, the ticking of the pendulum clock and the silent swinging of the ceiling fan the only thing filling the void. I open my mouth to end the growing awkwardness, but Aaron got the better of me.

As if reading my mind, he says, "I'm not going to steal it".

I lay back and stare at the ceiling. "Right".

"I'm going home tonight, that's why I can't steal it. So, this is sort of goodbye I think".

Still staring at the ceiling, I say, "Just remember our deal".

Aaron nods his head. "Yes, yes, never ever stepping my foot on your beloved school again. See? How could I steal the stone if I keep to my words?"

At the time, his words went over my head.

Aaron turns and opens the door to leave, I look just in time to see him leaving—he doesn't look back nor say anything else. Finally rid of my kidnapper and identity stealer, relief mixes in with worry—I've no idea whether him knowing about the stone to be a good or bad thing.

—

The sun hasn't shined when we begin to see the rolling hills of Blytonbury. The old car bumps up and down on every hole or bump on the road. On the front seat is Wang, humming a merry tune to the song that's playing on the old radio.

Beside me is Amadeus, sleeping peacefully and using my arm as a pillow.

Wang stops his humming to speak. "I gotta say, haven't been to a small town like Blytonbury in ages, wonder what it's like". Wang says, he looks to me through the rear view mirror and asks. "What are ya gonna do?"

"Sleep, hopefully till tomorrow undisturbed".

Wang nods to my answer. "What happened to your other friend? The tall one".

"He went to his own home, wherever that is", I answer offhandedly, my eyes kept busy with the view outside.

Silence fills the car once again. Wang takes this opportunity to tune his radio, it whizzes and bugs out until it properly finds the right frequency. A merry tune begins to fill the silent trip.

Wang bobs his head to the music, I find myself almost doing the same thing.

"Nice song", I mutter.

"Oh this?" Wang says, looking back to me from the rear view mirror again. "It's Vera Lynn".

He said that like I'm supposed to immediately know who that person is. My silent respond caught Wang's attention. He says, surprised, "You don't know Vera Lynn? The Forces Sweetheart? She's huge during the second World War!"

"This may sound surprising, Wang, but I wasn't even a thing at that time. But it's a nice song though, albeit a bit depressing".

Wang smiles to himself. "It's called 'We'll meet again'".

"Touching".

The car arrives at the front gates of the academy. The already familiar look of Luna Nova's white walls and towering architecture stands tall and proud despite the destruction it faced mere days ago.

Wang whistles at the sight of the academy, rolling down his window to get a better view outside.

I awkwardly shake Amadeus off my arm and move, waking the boy up. Judging from his drowsy eyes and yawn, he appears to not yet realize what he'd been doing in his sleep.

"Here already?" the young wizard rubs his eyes.

I nod. "Yeah, I'll see you next time".

Amadeus's hand search his massive backpack, tossing numerous items into the air as he tries to find what he's looking for. Once he found it, Amadeus tells me to give him my hand and he immediately puts a fancy bracelet on my arm.

"Is… this some sort of friendship bracelet?" I ask warily. "I've bad experience with getting friendship bracelets for free".

Amadeus frowns. "No it's something so much better. It's something I made with my teacher when I was still enrolled in… in…"

Amadeus's words hang in the air, it's apparent that he's lost the name of the school. But the boy was quick to get back on his track and just move on. "Anyway, that doesn't matter, what matters is that the bracelet is a communication device, I have one too, see?"

Amadeus pulls his left sleeve and reveals a similar looking bracelet, a smile plastered on his face as he does.

"There's this thing called telephones, you know?" I say.

Amadeus laughs just to please my snide. Reaching inside his backpack again, he procures a familiar ring. "I finished fixing the ring you found, here".

The ring is the one that Rudolph used that night of the attack, the one broken after taking heavy punishment from that mysterious apparition's attack.

The ring, a signet, has a unique symbol etched on it, one of a twin tailed comet. It doesn't miss me that the name 'twin tailed comet' was mentioned in Rudolph's letter, which makes me to believe more and more that this ring has some sort of connection with the stone.

I'd taken it and showed it to Mr Wright earlier last night, he urged me to keep it for now, not before asking Amadeus to fix it of course.

The old car rolls down the dirt road, leaving a trail of dust and exhaust smoke as it slowly disappears into the rolling green hills that leads to Blytonbury. I wave towards the shrinking sight of the car, even though no one could possibly see it at this point. Returning the ring to my pocket, I turn and begin my walk towards the school, feeling my other pocket once in a while to make sure that a stone is still in there.


	11. Back to School

The following days come and go normally, as if everything spectacular that happened days before had never happened. The students and teachers themselves are similar; once the constructions are over, the school ends its break and the daily routines shared by the students and teachers. For them, the dragon attack is now but long passed, casually spoken between friends like a distant memory. Everything felt normal, as if the dragon had never attacked the school and I've never been thrown into a bizarre night in London.

Diana scored the highest on a surprise quiz in Miss Lukic's class and the school cafeteria served strawberry pies as per usual on Monday evenings—I don't like strawberries. Everything is normal.

Considered normal is also the failure of a certain student. A flock of birds takes flight at a sudden disturbance. One troublesome witch had failed her broom riding practice for perhaps the tenth time this evening.

"Gyah!" Akko cries as she rolls on the dirt.

However, I'm in no place to laugh at her misfortune. I suffer a similar fate as her; thrown to the ground as I fail my flight as well.

"Gah!"

Sucy snickers next to us, not bothering to hide it. She floats her broom closer to mine and whispers. "At least you're not the worst in the class".

Akko glares at her friend. "Shut it, Sucy!"

Miss Nelson, the broom instructor for our class, helps Akko to her feet. She says, "Keep that up and you'll break your bones before ever learning to fly".

Something fast flies above us, interrupting our training. Looking up, I see a red streak flying fast in the sky.

"yahoo!". Amanda cheers as she performs maneuvers midair. She twist and turns and with amazing agility jumps and lands both of her feet on her broom, riding and performing dangerous maneuvers while doing this.

"Amanda!". miss Nelson shouts. "No acrobatics during class! Get that through your thick skull already!".

Amanda slows her broom down and lays on it midair. "Wow, way to kill my fun".

"Hey! No sleeping on your broom!".

As she continues to shout at the rebel, I scan the field for her two friends. Not far from the field I find Constanze sitting by a tree, with what seems to be a mechanically propelled broom leaning next to her, beside the short fellow is her friend Jasminka, doing none other than snacking while sitting sidesaddle on her broom.

Potato crisps with sour cream flavouring, I need to have one.

Cheers erupted from across the field. I look towards the source of attention and isn't surprised to find it came from Diana who's flying at an impressive speed and performing an even more impressive sharp turns and manoeuvres at that speed. She ends her flight with a break, leaving a dust cloud at her wake. She lands on her feet,

"8.02 seconds!". Hannah exclaims.

"Such speed! That's a new record, Diana!". Barbara cheers.

Diana appears unimpressed as she coolly fixes her hair, seemingly unwavered from the adrenaline rush she should have experienced.

"That's so cool", I mutter.

Amanda seems to have heard me, she flies closer by me, still lazily laying on her broom, and says, "Meh, I can do better. Anyway, what have you been doing this past days?".

"Nothing, stayed in my room without interacting with anyone else and doing nothing relevant".

Amanda doesn't bother hiding her sarcasm. "That sounds so exciting".

"What is Constanze doing anyway?".

"Her? The usual, tinkering about with her stuff, this time being a propeller broom apparently".

"Propeller brooms, rocket propelled grenades, robots, and guns, I thought high tec stuff like that is illegal here".

"Pshh! Her middle name is illegal". Amanda says. She pauses for a moment after that joke. "that came out wrong".

"Really? I thought her middle name was... Amalie? Or Braunschbank? ".

"Yeah, they both mean illegal in German".

"Right, and O'Neil means a rebel and a complete disobedient student in American, is it not?".

"Funny! And by the way no one says 'American' as a language just so you know".

"Nonsense. English and American English, they're totally separate things! I mean, what kind of lunatic pronounces grey… gray? Amanda what is Jasminka eating right now?".

She looks towards her snacking friend. "potato chips?".

"See? See? Who would even call that chips! It's crisps!".

"You're overreacting, there's not much difference".

"You literally renamed a millennia old sport just so you can name a new one of yours with the former's name".

"Come on, soccer sounds so much better than calling it football. What's wrong with that?"

"What's wrong with- everything! Especially the way you remove the 'u' out of everything. I mean, who pronounce colour without a 'u'?"

A smile finds its way to Amanda. She says with an obvious wink. "We're just trying to get rid of… 'u'".

I groan to myself. "Barbaric".

Amanda decides to stay by me while I continue with my training, occasionally providing sarcastic compliments every time I fail. Fortunately I'm not the only one failing. The sound of Akko falling and tumbling through the grass has become a norm at this point.

Lotte who've separated herself from the rest of the advanced students has come to see Akko train. "Maybe you need a little break, that's all" Lotte suggests with a smile.

"She's just terrible at this, let's face it", Sucy says.

Akko stirs and groans on the ground, the pain that she's been dutifully stockpiling begins to take its toll. Still, she still manages to speak. "At least there's Aldia! She's almost as bad as me!"

I would've chuckled along if it wasn't true.

"Who's Aldia?" I hear Amanda ask.

Akko turns to Amanda and me, an innocent, curious look on her face. "Oh, you two haven't met?"

Amanda pauses, her confusion is visible as she looks to me for guidance but I offer her nothing.

"…who, who are we talking about here?" Amanda asks.

"Her!" Akko gestures towards my direction.

Amanda turns to me uncertainly. I finally reply to her with a series of quiet hand gestures.

Amanda has the most confused look on her face. She follows, nonetheless. "…yyyyeah, I met her".

Later, when Akko's busy with her training again and Sucy and Lotte are preoccupied in helping her, I pull Amanda close.

"I'll explain it later", I whisper urgently.

"What gives? Why are they calling you that?"

"They still think I'm a girl".

Amanda distances herself from me and looks at me with new look of clear surprise. She eyes me from head to toe without a word.

"What, Amanda?"

She doesn't reply.

"Constanze didn't tell you?" I ask.

There's a delay to her answer, it also comes like a whisper. "…she knew?"

"You didn't?"

She pauses again, holds up a finger, and says. "For the record, I've a legit reason to think you're not a guy—I thought you were roleplaying back in the labyrinth and still is".

"This is not a time to joke around, O'Neill!"

Unfazed, Amanda eases and huffs out air. "Seriously dude, you really pulled off a good disguise here, almost as good as I could! But why are you hiding the fact that you're a…"

Amanda's words trail off and her eyes drift from mine for a moment. They suddenly show a mischievous glimmer and she has the most annoying smile now plastered on her face. She leans close to me and says in a whisper, "Never expected you to be a pervert, Jerry".

I immediately grow red. "W-watch your mouth, its nothing like that!"

"Nothing like that? Then why are you so worked up when they almost figured it out?"

I stop dead on my tracks—there's really no worthy explanation to my terrible social abilities. The reason for my 'worked up-ness' is simply that I'm somehow too embarrassed to just tell them now, if that even makes sense?

"That's because—"

"You're a perv who wanted to sneak close to them, right?" Amanda rushes to finish before I could.

I grow even more red, my voice almost cracks, "That's not it…"

Amanda doesn't listen. Instead, she just laughs gleefully, enjoying the pinch she's put me into.

I stomp my foot, trying to fight the embarrassment that's building up inside me. "They're just nice to me so far and I sort of took the 'going with the flow' thing too far, now I'm afraid that if I reveal it now—which is too late in—they'll think I'm some sort of creep that wanted to get close to them".

"But that is what you're planning, right?"

I puff my cheeks and stomp my foot again. "You're not helping!"

Amanda shakes her head. "Listen, you're overthinking this, seriously. Just go and tell them like a champ. Who knows, they'll see you differently right away", she ends with a wink.

I don't reply with any words, only with an annoyed and flustered stare at her. I look away towards the three subject to our conversation, painfully unaware of anything we just talked about.

—

Before the next class starts, I try to find Diana. As expected, she's already in the classroom before classes even start. Her books and utensils already prepared on her table. There's no sight of her two entourages.

I'm surprised to discover that Diana wanted to talk to me as well. As expected, she's curious of what happened back in London.

"I'm quite sure it's a disturbance in the mansion's sorcerer's stone", Diana says. "I heard it's caused by a terrible miscast spell from within the mansion, though from where it's sourced from I have no idea. Perhaps it's a member of that family. Perhaps they cover that information up to avoid damage of reputation of said member".

I nod quietly, not making any comment on her assessment. I won't risk giving her any ideas.

Indeed, it still feels surreal that I'm perhaps the only person in this building that knows what really happened that night.

"I'm still surprised to see you there, by the way", Diana says.

"A friend of a friend has an invitation and. I just so happen to be at London", I reply dismissively. "In any case, I'm not here to talk about that".

Without waiting for Diana's response, I place a book on the table. "I borrowed this from the library. It's… confusing to read and I hope you can help me a bit".

Diana's eyes show recognition after a brief glance at the book.

"Blood magic?" Diana says. Her hand hovers just above the book.

I pull a chair and take a seat across Diana. "I've just recently heard of it. Know anything about it?"

"Only a little. I read about them not long ago", Diana confesses. "The simplest way to understand it is to compare it to your usual every day magic. You've normal magic, it converts magic around or within the user and transform it to forms the user wished. And then there's blood magic. Same principle, same way any other magic works, only that it uses another substance, fuel, to run the magic: blood".

"What about the catalysts. We use wands, what about for those kinds of magic?"

"I don't know much about them. I only know that, while blood magic catalysts come in many shapes and forms, they all follow the same rule: they take in blood and convert them to blood magic or normal magic, depending on the wielder's needs".

As Diana goes on with her explanations, I listen intently, not making any remark or response.

The moment she's done, my head is overflowing with information—too much than I expected to receive when I first came to her. I slump back on my chair and stare off into the ceiling, trying to take all the information in.

Diana remarks, "You seem quite interested in this. It's morbid history. I'm not much of a fan of this".

"Yet you know so much about it", I muse, still staring at the ceiling.

"I tend to remember things well", Diana responds dismissively. "What about you, why are you interested about this? I didn't take you as someone who's interested in spells that most would find disturbing".

I hide a grimace at her words. I managed to read through the lines. The rough translation of Diana's cleverly tact words are: 'I didn't know you're the type of kid who likes creepy occult things'.

Just now I realize how creepy and weird it must've been for Diana; someone out of the blue just came and asked her about a creepy form of magic.

I wasn't aware of it at the beginning, but now I'm aware of how weird I might've been the entire conversation.

Fearing this idea of me will grow, I correct her immediately. "Oh, it disturbs me! I wouldn't even come and ask you these if I wasn't…"

But the words trail of my mouth, leaving Diana in confusion.

Noticing my growingly blank look, Diana worriedly raises her brows. "If you weren't…?"

I blink out of my daze and meet Diana's growingly puzzled stare, only to avert my eyes away.

I gulp. I scratch the back of my head and answer, "…If I didn't have homework on it! Hah! Miss Lukic really have the spookiest subjects, huh, Diana?"

I glance briefly towards Diana, to see her reaction. She's outstandingly confused.

"There's no homework about this…"

I blink. "Well, in my class—"

"We're in the same class, Franklin".

I heave out a load of air before slowly facing Diana again. "Fine, I'm researching about blood magic in my own volition, but it's not what you think it is! My purposes are purely academic. I've no personal interest in… creepy occult things that only kids with eyeliners are into!"

Diana stares at me with unblinking eyes. Her arched brows slowly turn to a frown. "I didn't say anything like that".

I lean myself forward on the table, surprising Diana.

I exclaim, "Regardless! Do not, I repeat, do not go around telling people I asked you any of these. I don't want the reputation of being an edgy kid sticking with me till the end of my school years here. Don't tell anyone".

Diana blinks. Her mouth hangs open but no words come out.

Before she could make any respond, a new voice appears from behind us, startling me beyond words.

"Don't tell what? What were you two talking about?" asks Hannah as she walks up to our table, followed by Barbara.

"And what's that creepy looking book?" Barbara asks.

"Crumbs!" I splutter before turning to the two. "W-what are you two doing here?"

"Um, this is our table?" Hannah says with a frown, emphasizing this by casually placing her books and stationaries on the table.

Barbara, however, noted the foreign book on the table with a creepy cover. It's definitely not hers, and she doesn't remember Hannah or Diana ever having a book like that.

Noting the direction of Barbara's gaze, I quickly swipe the book away. I stand up and force out a laugh.

"Well, Diana, thanks for helping me with my magical numerology homework. I think it's time I should hit the road".

Though they've no idea what's going on, Barbara and Hannah definitely notice something is off. They both exchange questioning glances.

Diana, for whatever reason, thankfully takes my lie in stride. "Pleasure's all mine…"

Hannah and Barbara is bad news if I want to keep something a secret. In the little time I've known these two, I've already discovered quite many things about them. Aside from discovering first-hand how terrifying Hannah is when she's pissed, I've also learned from other students that she and Barbara have a knack for getting and spreading rumours. Add the fact that these two are quite popular, I've a recipe for a secret spiller right in front of me.

"Class is about to start. I better find my seat", I remark as I attempt to leave the three, only to stop when I spot a familiar trio entering the room. It's the red team. They make their loud entrance into the class.

I promptly turn 180 degrees. "Can you scooch over, Diana? I don't want to sit next to Hannah".

Soon Professor Ursula enters the room and class starts as usual. I requested it earlier, but sadly, I do end up sitting next to Hannah.

Still better than with the red team, I guess. Though I'm starting to think otherwise when the yellow-bowed girl starts poking at my elbow out of the blue.

"You really can't fly, huh?" Hannah whispers. "I thought you were joking back then. Why can't you?"

I bite back a groan. I pretend I didn't hear her and continue taking notes.

Hannah leans slightly closer and closer towards me, while I reply by leaning further away from her.

Her unrelenting gaze has this indescribable pressure on me.

Finally reaching my threshold, I turn and glare at the girl. "I'm trying to take notes here".

It wasn't effective. Hannah just shrugs it off. "I'm just asking you a question!"

I narrow my eyes at her. On the other hand, a devilish, smug smirk is growing on Hannah's lips, her eyes only grows in confidence.

The growing silence—the longer I make no response—mean more victory for Hannah.

In the end, I look past her and towards Diana who sits far on the end of the table. "Diana, can we switch seats?"

When the class is over, only a handful of students remain in the room. The blue team had also left the room not long ago.

Meanwhile, I need to stay for a while longer, finishing up an assignment I was late to finish (thanks to a certain yellow-bowed distraction) while the professor waits, still behind her podium.

Once I finish the paper and handed it to the professor, I was about to turn and leave when something on the professor's table catches my eye. On an old piece of parchment paper is a crude pencil sketch of a comet, complex numbers and calculations scribbled around and even over it. The comet has a twin tail.

It's the same comet mentioned in Rudolph's letter.

"A twin tailed comet", I remark quietly, not intending to be heard, but the professor did.

" _The_ Twin Tailed Comet", Professor Ursula corrects me as she glances at the paper I'm referring. She turns to face me. "You know of it?"

"…Only heard of it in passing". I respond after a pause. "I heard it's quite special".

The professor nods. "It's a very rare comet, only seen a few times across history. Any sighting of it is believed to be an omen of change, great change".

"Change… Change to what?"

"To anything, that's why while it's traditionally an omen of good luck, it also has in it an ominous nature; no one knows what change it'll bring until it happens".

The professor gathers her papers and books, putting the questioning session to an end. Not that I can complain, I have no idea what to ask anyway.

* * *

 **Author's Notes:** **have this side story thingy that came to be because after a series of reworks I've no idea where to put them. Lol.**

* * *

 _ **-**_ _ **mini bonus side**_ _ **story**_ _ **extreme**_ _ **A:**_ _ **Learn to Fly**_ _ **-**_

"First of all I have to say thank you, to all of you, for being here and giving me the much needed moral support on my endeavor to master the art of flying".

"no problem". Jasminka replies before taking a bite of her bagel. Constanze just nods without looking up from her tinkering.

"You're not going to put up a show", Amanda says nonchalantly. "Now start by telling me about your flying experience".

"This is the third time I've ever touched a broom" I answer confidently. "To ride one, I mean. I use brooms regularly to clean floors".

"That's miserable". Amanda shakes her head and keeps clicking her tongue, overdramatizing her pity on me.

She's quick to perks up again though.

"But that doesn't matter! Because the person in front of you have learnt broom riding since she's little, so I know just how to practice for your first flight".

Amanda sits sidesaddle on her floating broom, ready to observe my training closely. "Okay this isn't really relevant to your training, but why didn't you go train with your friends from yesterday?"

I stare at Amanda flatly. "That would be like asking a paraplegic to teach me how to run".

Amada shrugs. "I guess. Anyhow, go and do what you did yesterday".

I did exactly what I did yesterday, putting the broom between my legs.

"Good you're doing great so far!", Amanda chuckles, she stops it quickly after I throw her a sharp stare. "Okay, okay. Now, say the spell and kick off the ground".

"Tia Freyre? Tia Freyre!"

I kick off the ground and lo and behold, gravity still works.

"Eh, figured as much" Amanda sighs. She hops off her broom and walks closer towards me. "Try to focus your magic on the bristles by the way, it's the easiest place to focus your magic, for me at least".

"Bristles, okay got it".

I ready myself once again and this time focus my magic on the bristles, but still no change to my air time.

"Try not to use too much magic" Amanda continues. "Use just enough. Flying doesn't need you to put out too much magic, you're trying to float not drown yourself. Use light amounts of magic but put it at the right places, that's what I'm trying to say ".

"R-right!".

It's a rare sight seeing Amanda being so knowledgeable about something, I know its harsh but until now I've never see her as the type to actually be knowledgeable about anything. So this? A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one.

"Now you need to find a balance between the tip of the broom and the bristle end, but put more magic in the bristles since the back part plus you is heavier".

I try to do just as she said, trying my hardest to divide my already feeble reserve of magic. It's a struggle I have to admit.

My struggle begins to come into fruition, when I see the bristles begins to shake and wave, magic coursing through it feebly but steadily.

"Good, Jericho good", Amanda smiles. "Now hit it".

I kick off the ground and say the magic words. It's a great leap of struggle but to my surprise, I find myself floating for a mere mighty second before landing back on the ground.

Despite me being the one training, Amanda was the first to cheer. "Hah! It worked! I didn't think it would!"

"That was amazing!". Jasminka cheers and gladly pauses her snacking just to clap, Constanze nods in approval and does the same.

"I can't believe it. I thought I'm going to be flightless my whole life!"

A smug grin creeps its way to Amanda. "Just minutes here and I thaught you more than miss Nelson".

The rest of the afternoon was spent with me repeatedly jumping up and down and gaining more and more air with each try. Amanda and her friends stuck around for a good while, just being there to watch me train and to laugh at me when I inevitably fail at some points in my training.


	12. Amadeus

It was early morning when Hannah, Barbara, and Diana visited my table in the cafeteria. I was busy with my book when Hannah suddenly slams her hand on the table, startling me out of my reading. "It's been settled". Hannah says with a smile tugging on her lips. "We lose, you stay".

"And if we win, you leave and tell". Barbara adds.

The past few days, I've been spending my time with the blue team just to avoid being in the proximity in the red team. And during that time, Hannah and Barbara weren't exactly being the most welcoming. And today, they're most enthusiastic because they finally find a method to get rid of me in a fair way.

But still…

"That's unfair, I'm as good as losing the bet by now! I can't fly, let alone race in the relay race!" I exclaim.

Hannah and Barbara grins victoriously, they must've taken my inability into account.

Diana who'd been silent for the most part of our conversations finally decides to intervene. "It's not that we wouldn't want you to stay, but I myself see the good in you overcoming your embarrassment and tell them who you are".

"Actually, we do", Hannah chimes in with a smug smile that she doesn't even bother to hide, it only intensifies when I glare at her.

"I- It's not as easy as that!" I say. "What if they're cool with me so far because they think I'm a girl and when they realize I'm not they'll start to treat me differently?"

"The longer you wait the more awkward it will be". Diana points out.

"The better!". Barbara snickers.

Diana is right, just as always. The longer I keep this act up the more awkward I'll feel and the harder it'll be for me. I need to tell them the truth as soon as possible but this is me we're talking about, my confidence might be the equivalent of or perhaps even bested by a Yukon gold potato.

Diana notices this hesitation of mine and continues. "Since you can't possibly join the race we decided that you can choose one team to represent you, which means you're not entirely hopeless. I'm not the only talented student in Luna Nova, after all".

With those last words said Diana leaves the cafeteria followed closely by her two friends, who gives me a stick of their tongues once Diana doesn't see.

/-/

"You want me to win the broom relay race?". Amanda asks with a puzzled look.

We're inside the school's garage now, as I just found out this is the place Amanda's group likes to hang out since Constanze can do whatever she wants here apparently. The little fellow is not far from us, a goggle and rubber gloves on, tinkering with her mechanical machinations. Jasminka not far from her, helping her work, waiting by her side handing out some needed tools every time the short one stretches her hand towards Jasminka.

"Yes", I answer. "Han and Barb made a one sided bet against me. The good thing is they allow me to pick someone to represent me in the race, since naturally I have no option to join it with my current teamless state and that, well, I can't fly".

"I heard Akko's in it", Jasminka points out.

"Why ask?". Amanda asks as she stops cleaning her broom and sets it on a wall nearby. "I will win even without you asking me to you know?".

"I know! But no offense, seeing your track record I kinda worry that you won't treat the race seriously".

"Pshh! You underestimate me. Besides, am I not the best broom rider in the school?".

She says nothing after that and so do I. It was then do I realize her expectant gaze at me and that this is supposed to be the part where I affirm her boast.

"O-of course I thought you'd win, definitely so. There's no way those girls from the blue team who'd been fed silver their whole lives could possibly win against you!"

"I think the right one's 'raised with silver spoons'", Jasminka comments from behind Amanda.

"What I'm trying to say is that it's a team game. And you, Amanda, are of course the best broom rider out there but in truth, Constanze and Jasminka are not as good as you. Not saying they're bad, but compared to your sublime skills, everyone else looks terribly inadequate. No one could hold a candle to your broom riding prowess".

I finish my sugar sprinkled praise. I notice Constanze taking off her goggles and looking up from her tinkering towards me, she seems to be in protest of what I said and was about to say something of her own, but in the end she chose not to and return to her tinkering.

"He's right you know". Jasminka surprises me with her support.

"Hm, I do like your choice of words". Amanda says, stroking her chin. "But what's the bet about, anyway?"

"Well, they wanted me to tell the red team the truth so I won't need to hide from them by sticking to the blue team, which to no one's surprise, annoys two of the three members".

Amanda nods understandably, almost sagely. Jasminka shows not much reaction, indicating that she knows of my identity predicament already from her two friends.

I lean back on the wooden frame behind me, letting out a long sigh as I stare to the tall ceilings of the garage. "In any case, sorry if I sound pushy, its just that I really don't want them to win".

I don't know why I'm even worried in the first place, since when do I worry about such silly misunderstandings?

I try to mask it, but apparently my distress isn't invisible to the pink haired girl's eyes. She gets up and starts to walk towards me, leaving Constanze who is still focused on her work and is currently stretching out her hand to where Jasminka sits seconds ago, waiting expectantly for Jasminka to hand her a needed tool.

"What sweets do you like?". Jasminka asks as she rummages through what seems to be her snack bag.

I straighten my back with new energy as I hear her offer. "dark chocolate!"

After a short moment, Jasminka pulls out a bar of dark chocolate from her bag and hands it to me.

A smile finds its way to my lips. Perhaps it came because just now, with these three helping me, I realize I might have a chance at not losing the bet, or it came merely from the generous gift of the dark chocolate.

Either way, Jasminka smiles with satisfaction when she sees how a simple bar of dark chocolate does the job to lift me up.

Constanze suddenly pops up beside us, black smirches of oil scattered across her outfit and face.

"Oh, you're done Cons?". Amanda asks, earning a confident nod from Constanze as a reply.

Constanze steps away to reveal her invention, a powered broom with a propeller attached to it's back end.

"Whoa". The three of us stare at it in marvel. Constanze crosses her arm seeing her work, chin lifted up with pride.

"You made this by yourself?". I ask, earning another confident nod from the little witch.

"Isn't this awesome?". Amanda moves the propeller with her hand. "This looks seriously fast".

I study the odd machinery, it's complete with a bulky engine and exhaust pipes jutting out of it. I trace my hand through the machine, surprised to feel it's covered in something oily, I look to my fingers and find it's covered in oil.

"oh great". I mutter. Jasminka notices this and hands me a napkin.

I suddenly feel something vibrating on my arm, I realize it came from the bracelet Amadeus gave me.

"I should go now. Have something to do in town".

"The town? Let me take you there". Amanda offers.

"I don't want to bother you".

"No it's alright I need to do something there too".

Before I could decline her offer again, Amanda is already out of the garage to find her stuffs, leaving me with Jasminka and Constanze.

I glance at the two, as expected Jasminka returns to her usual snacking state and Constanze is cleaning her new invention with many rolls of tissue paper.

"Yep… the town. Yes sir we're going there". I remark, not gaining any real form of reply except for muffled sounds and a cute grunt. Honestly it baffles me that I've spoken more words and received more barks from a dog in one day compared to weeks with these two.

/-/

"So where do you want me to drop you off?". Amanda asks. Her red hair flows with the fast winds, occasionally brushing my face and almost making me sneeze.

"Anywhere honestly" I answer, pushing myself further back on the broom as her hair brushes my face again. "Also can you not like… take your eyes off the road please?"

"There's no road in the sky, what's there to look out for?". Amanda asks. She keeps looking behind, now knowing full well that it will scare me.

"please don't do this- Aaaaah!".

I'm immediately interrupted when Amanda suddenly manoeuvres the broom in dangerous ways, spinning it around and doing sudden sharp turns in the sky.

"God! Don't do that- Aaaaaah!".

She ignores my cry of distress as she continues her maneuvers, doing full loops and barrel rolls this time.

"Aaaaah! I hate you!".

Amanda just laughs at my moment of distress. "Okay, that was fun I admit". She says, still giggling mischievously.

"yes, very funny". I grumble. "Let's not do that, like ever again".

"Anyway, what's that cool looking thing on your hand? I think I wanna see it…"

I quickly pull out my wand and stick it on Amanda's cheek. "No, no. Keep looking forward. If you dare look back I'll shoot you".

"Shooting the pilot eh?". Amanda muses, amused with the situation. "After that, what's the next step of your master plan?".

"Crashing this broom". I say, trying to muster up my most threatening voice. "With no survivors".

Amanda laughs at my response but I don't follow. Something I said must've been funny to her. Whatever it is, it went over my head.

It doesn't take long for Amanda to reach the town square. She pulls her broom to a stop and lowers me before stretching her hand towards me. With a grin, she says. "That will be 14 dollars".

"Quids, you mean?".

"Quids, good grief". Amanda rolls her eyes.

"Yeah quids. Unlike those weird… paperish money in those rebellious colonies, or some say America, plegh I say!". I cheekily and over dramatically stick out my tongue in disgust. "I.. I bite my thumb at you… I don't know what that means".

Amanda laughs. "Alright, nerd. When do you want to meet up or something?"

"I don't know, I might have a friend to take me home…"

"Alright, your loss".

I saw Amanda off as she disappears between the crowd of pedestrians, her broom rested on her shoulder still sticking out of the crowd as she weaves between them, finally disappearing once the redhead rounded a corner.

Now that I think about it, I think the correct sentence was 'I bite my tongue at you', not thumb is it? I don't know that's what I heard somewhere before.

I was about to use the bracelet to contact Amadeus when I feel someone's gaze on me. Looking behind, I jump when I found Amadeus already right behind me.

"You owe me answers", Amadeus says with a surprising stern tone. His arms are crossed and he's an unusual bitter expression today.

"Answers?"

Amadeus nods. Surprising me when his stern expression fades away and he walks off ahead of me. "I should take you to my place first though, we can't have secret talks in a public place!"

"Your place?"

I try to follow the excited Amadeus through the streets. With him being so small, Amadeus could easily slip through the crowds of pedestrians, while I'm often hindered by them. Because of this I nearly lost sight of him a couple of times.

"There!". Amadeus points down the road, his head turned towards me. "Right around the corner!".

With him still looking back, Amadeus fails to see the girl exiting the shop ahead of him. He runs into her hard and would've lost his footing if I didn't catch him by his shoulders.

Amadeus quickly untangles himself from my hands and turns her attention to the girl he just ran into. "Ah! I'm sorry for running into you, miss!"

"No no! I'm sorry for not looking!". The girl returns his apology, her voice is familiar and I knew who it belonged to without looking up.

The voice belonged to that of Akko, she'd just exited the magic items café beforee Amadeus decides to run into her. As expected, the rest of her team, Lotte and Sucy, appears behind her, each of them carrying bags filled with items they bought from the store they just visited.

I physically flinch at the situation I'm in.

"Hello Aldia". Lotte was the first to notice and greet me. Well, maybe not the first to notice it's just that Sucy chose to not greet me. "Funny meeting you here".

Akko's eyes light up as they shift towards me. "Oh, Aldia! What are you doing here?".

Amadeus however, frowns upon hearing the name. "Aldia? He's not Al-".

A quick elbow jab is enough to silence the boy. Sucy was the only one perceptive of it and eyes both of us curiously. "He's?".

"Why are you here?". Lotte asks, very fortunately covering her friend's question. "Are you going to the magic items café too?".

"No, Lotte, I'm just doing some errands".

Akko walks closer towards Amadeus and smiles. "And who's this?"

Amadeus was about to answer for himself but I quickly rush my own before he could. "Cousin! He's my cousin from Irish, Ireland I mean, he's from Ireland therefore making him Irish".

"This is your cousin? Nice to meet you! I'm Kagari Atsuko, but my friends call me Akko, and this here is Lotte and Sucy!".

As usual, Lotte is the polite one and introduces herself warmly, while Sucy doesn't say anything.

It was this time that Amadeus is supposed to introduce himself, but he just stands there in silence, not knowing what to say or simply confused with the whole thing.

A bump to his back is enough to kick start him. Amadeus straightens his back and clears his throat. "Sorry, I'm Amadeus, Amadeus Montgomery Watson".

I'm reminded of how much of a mouthful his name is.

"What a mouthful". Sucy snickers. I begin to understand that Sucy is me if I have no decency for being an okay person.

Amadeus however only tilts his head at the girl's rude remark. He seems to be more puzzled by the girl's sudden impoliteness more than hurt, something that visibly bothers Sucy.

Not intending to linger any longer, I push Amadeus past the group. "It's been nice talking to you but we have some business elsewhere, so please excuse us".

"Okay, sure". Akko beams. "Don't forget there's the Broom Relay race tomorrow, don't miss it!"

I only stop pushing the boy after we round a corner and lose sight of the three. Amadeus quickly crosses his arm. "Do I want to ask?"

I was thinking to explain the situation to him but I figured he'll just laugh at my situation. "Nope, you'll just laugh at it".

/-/

The place Amadeus rented for his stay in Blytonbury is quite comfortable. The place felt warm and welcoming, it shields away the town's cold night weather well. Despite this, the room stands powerless in facing a different kind of cold, one brought about by our unsettling topic of conversation.

"I'm going to be frank about this. I want to really know what Marcus got himself into". The boy says. He's dropped a newspaper on the low table in front of me and crosses his arms as he waits for me to read it.

I don't ask, intending to find the answer on the newspaper instead. I try to reach for the newspaper but immediately stop at the sight of the news. Written in bold letters, the headline is clear and rings loudly in my head.

 **'** **Sorcerer's Stone** **disturbance** **in Alistair manor** **, multiple dead in exhibition party".**

Amadeus sighs unevenly. He shows more irritation than any grief. "That's what you were all talking about that night, right?"

I don't listen to him, how could I? I pick up the newspaper and immediately read the news. The boy's words become drowned as I focus entirely on what I read. This is what was confirmed here: an accident occurred and there are casualties in the Alistair manor. I keep reading it, some sentences I read word by word on repeat, as if doing it would make me see something different—a better news. These last few days, I never thought about the possibility of this—that people died that night. Why didn't I think so? Was I wilfully ignorant of that possibility? I couldn't tell.

"What happened to the stone?" Amadeus asks with raised voice, surprising me completely and forcing me to put full attention to him.

My mind just stops on its track, it yearns to know more about the news, but I'm forced to satisfy Amadeus's curiosity first.

"What happened to the stone?" I find myself repeating. I realize now in this moment that Amadeus was out of the conversation that decides the fate of the stone.

Amadeus waits expectantly, and the more I delay, the more unconvincing my answer will be.

Amadeus must be worried. He wants to know more because he now suspects Mr Wright to be in some sticky business. But still, even if his intention is good, I can't tell him.

Even though Amadeus already knows about the stone's existence, that doesn't mean he should know more and its current whereabouts.

Either way, I have to come up with a response fast.

"Well?"

"Mr Wright hadn't told you?" I say, faking a surprise. "I shouldn't tell you this, but he has it".

This is the safest answer. I can't give him any decisive one, so better to throw the responsibility of answering him to Mr Wright, I'm sure he knows better on what to tell him.

Amadeus doesn't reply. His eyes show uncertainty and they soon look away, towards the windows. He later finally says, "I… better talk to him instead, then".

Good, exactly as I hoped!

With this little conflict settled, I return my attention to the piece of newspaper. Amadeus says nothing at all while I read.

The room grows silent. The busy sound of the town outside is heard even from here, their lively and happy noises contrasting the bleak piece of news I'm reading. Despite the infectious warmth this town and its people provides, I couldn't feel any in this room. It stays like this for minutes, yet feels like hours. I've no idea what Amadeus is doing. All I care for is these pieces of words on paper, pieces of words that grow bleaker and bleaker as I continue reading, until it reaches the coldest point possible.

One paragraph starts with words I had to double read: 'Alistair Rudolph was injured in the incident. He was taken to a hospital but he's sustained many injuries. He was fatally wounded. He died a day after the accident'.

I drop the newspaper and slowly lean back on the sofa. I feel a bit numb after reading that, uncomfortable as I imagined the faces that night, I feel something I couldn't describe. I had to remind myself to breath.

My eyes look emptily to the ceiling. Amadeus notices this. He remarks, "It wasn't an accident. People are violent, aren't they?"

I don't know if he's read the news completely, it doesn't seem like it. Such a terrible news and he's still… okay.

Maybe he didn't get it. Maybe he read it but didn't get it as much as I did.

His words didn't hit me for a minute, after all I feel a bit numb trying to take in everything I read.

Amadeus's question is genuine, genuinely innocent and curious. I've no idea someone would ever ask that kind of question to me.

I know better. I was after all an apprentice to Michelle, a Guardian. She's seen eye to eye with low life scums of the magical underworld, she worked against people like them.

There I realize Amadeus' true question, I too felt like I have such a question back during my first months of training under Michelle.

Humans are violent, and witches and wizards are not excluded. There are very, very disgusting criminals even in this world people would call magical.

Tonight, I'm very much reminded of that.

/-/

I close the phone. It was from Mr Wright, he too heard of the news. Furthermore, his request on me remains unchanged.

I hold the stone closer to the lantern on my desk, the only source of light in the dark of my room. The magical properties of the stone is something easily missed by the unperceptive, but the level of craftsmanship is apparent with just one look of the eye. The warm glow of the lantern dances on the smooth surface of the white stone, lifelike and vibrant. The light continues to reach deep into the deepest depths of the stone.

Something of such beauty and complexity must've been invaluable, something that would attract greed. Perhaps that reason itself is why all this happened, perhaps what the treasure hunters sought was the easy value these artefacts held. However, something about what Rudolph told me that night makes it hard to believe so.

I remember him saying it: some people still believe ancient magical relics could change the world today.

I didn't forget what Mr Wright told me, about how powerful these artefacts were in their time. Marrying that with what Rudolph shared with me, I begin to think Mr Wright's suspicious of the stone isn't far-fetched.

I can only hope that, if there is any, their goal isn't as sinister as I currently think it is, or that they only saw the treasures' prices, not their magical properties. Or even better: none of this matter since the stone is useless and worthless for good.

I place the stone inside a wooden box, the same Mr Wright had. Its soft velvety interior reflects dully on the stone's white surface.

My mind begins to wonder whether telling anyone else about this stone is a sound idea or not. I don't settle on that for long however, knowing that for now, what's important is that this stone is protected here in Luna Nova. Only when the time is truly necessary will I change my mind, and perhaps the best person to talk about it would be Michelle, but for now? I shouldn't put too much thought on this stone; I'm only here to keep it, nothing else and nothing more.

I close the box, locking the stone and my thoughts away for the night.


	13. The Fantastic Broom Relay Race

The field is crowded and loud. Colourful decorations hang over the field and a wooden stage is erected in the middle for the many observers.

Throughout the school, the halls and corridors are decorated as well.

The atmosphere around the academy is different. A palpable excitement, like electricity, could be felt in the air.

The talks around are all about the broom race, and of course, the predictions on who will win.

The academy is the liveliest I've seen thus far. Most if not all students are at the field, only a rare few are not. I'm one of the latter.

Sitting alone in my room accompanied only by a solitary goldfish on my desk is me.

My room is currently poorly lit, only a portion of it is lit by the sunlight streaming through the open window.

On my desk is a jumble of books. Grimoires and tomes, books and papers, they all revolve on the same topic: blood magic. They've long collected dust from the library, but they're on the process of being rid of them.

I leave most of the books open—I ran out of bookmarks long ago.

I lean back on my chair and look outside the window.

Contrasting here, outside is bright, but not too hot; a perfect day for an outdoor activity. The usually dull afternoon after classes are over are now filled with excited students.

Truthfully I would've preferred to stay in my room and sink back to my books for the rest of the afternoon, to continue learning about the ominous artefact that I keep, but I have a bet to settle. I practically begged the green team to win the race for me, the least I could do is to be there and cheer them on.

God, right, my bet. The thought of losing it just crosses my mind. I forgot that it was my biggest concern some time ago.

With a slightly reluctant pace, I crawl out of my nest and towards the school fields, towards the broom relay race and the outcome of my bet.

"hey wait up!". A loud voice I've come to be accustomed with calls out from behind. I didn't need to turn around to see who the owner of the voice is.

"are you going to watch the relay race?". Akko beams as she catches up to me, very clearly excited with the race.

"That I will. You too?". I ask, just now noticing there's no sign of Lotte or Sucy following her.

Akko tries to hide her grin. "You bet! I'll definitely watch it _very_ closely".

I turn to Akko, puzzled, but she doesn't elaborate.

We soon reach the school fields, there crowds of spectators and the race contestants are already gathered, the race contestants already grouped with their teams. I spot Professor Ursula on the far end of the crowd on a wooden stage, apparently she's being interviewed by the school's journalists, or press, or whatever they call themselves.

"wow, it's very crowded!". Akko exclaims as she shields her eyes from the midday sun, trying to find her friends in the sea of witches. "I wonder where they are?".

I myself am trying to find my group, well, not really my group but my representatives for this race.

"ah! There they are". Akko was about to leave me but stops and turns at the last second. "are you going to stay here?".

"I'm not going to follow you around, if that's what you're asking".

"Okay! I'll see you soon!" Akko grins with determination and waves her hand before leaving me for her friends.

I sort of just realized I've made a normal conversation with her for the first time since that identity crisis. The things you achieve when you're more worried about something else.

I have to give it to everyone who made the race possible. Now that I'm here, I find it hard to not feel the same excitement and joy everyone around me is feeling.

My mind is lifted more and more when I find the green team preparing for the race not far away from me.

Amanda was first to notice me. "Finally, thought you'd never come". She's sitting on top of what seems to be an iron cage wrapped in cloth, considering it's size it's probably her broom inside.

There must be something off about me, because Amanda suddenly perks up and asks, "You alright? You got that far off look in your eyes".

For a moment, I'm taken aback by the American's perceptiveness.

Before I could respond however, Amanda glances to the odd iron cage she's sitting on and smirks.

"You don't need to worry though, because it's safe to say that our victory is secured".

Well, she misunderstood my reason for worry entirely, but 10 points for spotting it anyway.

"Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer", I remark, but Amanda doesn't let it phase her.

"Oh, my confidence isn't unfounded. Let's just sat we have better equipment than our competitors". she lightly taps the iron cage below her, it suddenly shakes for a short second until Amanda places a fist on it, effectively silencing it, or whatever is inside of it.

Amanda smirks. "So cheer up. It's a race. Things are bound to be fun".

She's right. Today's the day of the race. I should enjoy the day while it's still here. An ancient relic that attracts violent treasure hunters and death should rob me of my days, shouldn't it?

Focus, focus on the day before you, Jericho. Focus on the fun race that's happening today.

Although, the race isn't that fun when I'm reminded of what will happen if my bet team loses.

Suddenly it's not a fun race anymore.

It seems that wherever I go, either back or forth, something bad is waiting for me.

I turn to look for the shortest person in the group. She's tinkering with her broom as usual with her robot companion by her side, helping her as she gives some final touches to the mechanical broom.

I feel like talking will distract me enough.

"how's the broom Constanze?". I ask. Only receiving a thumbs up from her as a reply.

"and how about you Jasminka?".

"very ready". she does a double thumbs up, which means she's readier than Constanze.

The team carries on with their activities before I came, occasionally tugging me into the conversation here and there.

With me out of the main spotlight, it's easy for my mind to drift away, away to where I last left my thoughts last night. I'm unaware of it, but whatever expression I wear when I think about it is enough for Amanda to notice and talk about it.

"Jasminka may lack agility, but she has that raw magic power". Amanda says, suddenly pulling me back to the concentration.

"What?!" I ask, failing to hide my surprise and confusion.

"Yessir she's fast. But she's terrible at tight turns, that's why we put her as the second runner, since that track has the least amount of turns".

That's… not what I was worried about, but fine I guess?

Amanda points ahead towards a floating map of the circuit. Indeed the second runner's path is the one with the least tricky turns, allowing someone who excels in speed to have great advantage.

I shake my mind back to reality. It's easy to do so when there's something impressive in front of you. "You've planned that?". I ask.

"What makes you think we wouldn't?".

"Hunch, a powerful one, also backed by your history of not thinking ahead". I jest. A soft smile creeps its way to my lips as I say it, surprising me. "To be honest I expected the lot of you to just race".

"Well you underestimated us". Amanda says, hands on her hip in a show of pride. She continues to point at various places in the circuit map. "Constanze will be up first, since she claimed that her machine has the best acceleration compared to the rest of us, and I've seen it it is impressive. That will give us a head start in the race, and maybe instill fear on the minds of our enemies as a bonus, break their morale before the battle begins".

"This is not a war". I point out. "Not between the racers, at least".

"And then for the last winning run, there's obviously me. The best broom rider in school".

Both Jasminka and Constanze gives a round of applause in support of Amanda's daring claim. I follow suit in the last seconds, clapping a bit too long after the others have stopped.

"Since I have the best control of the broom compared to the rest of us, it's only fitting that I will be the bringer of our victory". Amanda adds, concluding her explanation.

"This is great". I remark, actually surprised and impressed with all of them and their plans. "I had doubts but you three are starting to convince me ".

This big information made me much more confident at this, it was the truth that I didn't expect them to put serious work in this, but I've been gladly proven wrong. They seem to be very determined to win this race, with or without me begging them to win, I'm sure.

Seeing these three, I'm pretty sure they're the best to have a shot at defeating the elite blue team.

I look across the sea of crowds, and in the center of attention stands Diana and her team, as expected the school journalists are already all over them.

"So who are you to this team anyway?". Amanda asks, a slight tease in her voice.

"Me? I'm doing the best and most important part, or role, that being the manager". I say, with so little hint at joking that it makes Jasminka giggle.

Amanda arches a brow. "Manager? Really?".

"Yes. I mean, who will manage the team once we hit world class?". I say, making Amanda laugh again.

The voice of the announcer suddenly fills the air, announcing the imminent start of the race. The many teams of racers begin moving to their positions, splitting up from their group and going to the different starting points.

"That's our cue". Amanda says standing up.

Jasminka and Constanze follows suit as they ready their equipment, preparing to leave for their own positions too.

"Well we can't start without a word of encouragement do we?". I joke.

"That's a great idea". Amanda says, snapping a finger of agreement at the suggestion.

"Wait no I was joking!".

I was too late to stop them as Amanda suddenly drags me and Jasminka into a circle. Constanze struggles to reach the circle we made, so her robot climbs on top of her head and acts as her representative, forming a circle with the rest of us.

"What do we say?". Jasminka asks.

"Manager, this is your role". Amanda looks to me with a wink. Jasminka, Constanze and her robot looks to me expectantly too.

I try to come up with a motivational speech, reaching deep into my heart to produce the biggest nonsense I can muster.

Maybe I can talk about that quote about winners being the ones who go home and… wait no that's not appropriate, especially if one of these three _was_ a prom queen at some point.

I breathe deeply before delivering my alternative choice for the speech.

"Arise! Arise riders of Theoden!". I shout, now noticing heads turning to our direction as I begin my speech.

"Spears shall be shaken! Shields shall be splintered! A sword day, a red day! Ere the sun rises!".

I notice some of them exchanging glances with one another, but I won't let such distraction hinder my speech of a lifetime.

"ride now! Ride now! Ride! Ride for ruin and the world's ending!".

"Death!". I cheer for all to hear.

"Death!". Constanze's robot was first to follow.

"Death!". I cheer once again for the second time, now Amanda eagerly joins in, followed by Jasminka who tries her best to hold a giggle.

"Death!". I cheer for the third and last time and every member for the team capable of speech eagerly follows. I even hear faint cheers from other teams joining in from the distance.

"Forth Eorlingas!".

The group follows with a glorious war cry that would shake the very foundations of Yggdrasil itself, ready to face the darkness and charge into the lines of Mordor.

Amanda shouts along, followed closely by Jasminka. Constanze just lets out a cute determined grunt, her robot throwing it's arms to the air. Literally it just plucked its arms off and threw it to the air.

And with that I've brought the conclusion to my speech and the start of the battle to present. Let the armies of Mordor and Chaos Undivided come, we'll make them bite their own dusts!

/-/

"Why am I lifting this?". I ask, carefully placing my steps on the spiraling stairways.

"I need to preserve my energy". Amanda answers.

"yeah but I'm the manager". I protest.

Since Jasminka is already in her position, the manual labor naturally comes down to me. I'm currently trying to carry the iron cage through the spiraling stairways towards the top floor of the flight tower, it's not an easy task at all, before Jasminka arrived at her position she was the one carrying this around, and I didn't remember seeing her in any sort of trouble. I struggle through the stairway while Amanda walks ahead of me with not a care in the world, jogging up the stairways while I climb the stairs very carefully, placing each steps carefully as to not slip and fall and possibly die in the process. I have no idea what's inside this iron cage but this better be worth it.

"Come on, it's not that far". Amanda calls ahead. "See? We're here".

"Finally!". I drop the iron cage on the floor as I finally reach the top floor. I immediately drop to the floor next to it, face flat on the floor, struggling to catch my breath. Jasminka made this look too easy.

Amanda crouches next to me and pats me in the back. "you did good".

"I hate you".

I lift my head up from the floor and look towards the open balcony, there I spot the last runners of the race, I was not surprised to see Diana there, but what surprised me is that Akko is there with her.

"What?". was all I can muster.

"Wow, we've got some competition here". Amanda remarks. "This is perfect, I wanted to beat Diana myself".

"yeah, that's good. Confidence". I lazily mumble, still lying on the ground. I'm still wondering how will Akko compete with the likes of Diana, their difference in skills is astronomical.

"Amanda?". I mumble.

"Yeah?".

"Try not to be too harsh on Akko alright?". I plea halfheartedly.

"No promises on the field of battle". Amanda casually says.

I sit myself up when I remembered something. I reach for my left arm and take off the bracelet that Amadeus gave me and wear it into Amanda's arm. "A little sponsorship from your dear manager".

Amanda eyes the bracelet and whistles. "Cool but… what does it do?".

"I can communicate to you through it, so don't freak out and fall out of the broom when my delicate voice comes out of it".

"the race will begin in 30 seconds". Professor Ursula's voice booms over a floating stereo.

"Amanda, I'm nervous".

"you're not the one racing". Amanda sighs.

Soon the countdown begins, and a floating screen appears near us, broadcasting the contestants readying for the race, standing on top of a tall wooden platform. Among the first runners, Constanze stands out the most, carrying her very out of place engine powered broom. Miss Nelson stands not far from the start line, holding a… gun, a gun and is supervising the contestants. I notice Lotte is among them, along with Hannah, and… nope, they're the only one I know. That's it, that's the extent of my acquaintances in this school.

Miss Nelson points her pistol skywards. "on your marks, get set! Go!".

She fires the pistol and a bright flare shoots up, signaling the start of the race.

"Tia Freyre!". the first runners shouts, and to everyone's surprise, only Lotte successfully takes off, as the other contestants stood still on the platform.

"aaaah! Constanze what are you doing!?". I shout towards the screen.

Constanze quickly pulls out a… pistol, from her belt and fires at the bristles of her broom, a cloud of smoke emerges from the impact and apparently she's finally able to move. She quickly puts her goggles on and kicks off from the platform and starts the broom's engine, taking off at a surprising speed.

"Nice Constanze!". Amanda cheers for her.

Constanze flies her invention with surprising stability, flying across the sky smoothly just like a normal broom would. With a twist of the gas, the exhaust lights with sparks of fire and the propeller immediately spins faster. The broom continues to accelerate with incredible speed as she quickly closes the distance with Lotte. The little witch quickly flies past Lotte with ease, now leading the race as she takes the first place.

"coming out on top is the 'speed of sound tinker techie', Constanze!". A girl who's apparently riding a hot air balloon announces. Her voice booming from the floating screen.

"What's with that terrible nick name?". I say to myself.

Constanze speeds towards the second checkpoint, where Jasminka, Sucy and Barbara waits expectantly with the other contestants that I have no idea who they are. Jasminka begins to prepare for the baton pass, as Constanze gets close, she jumps to her broom and starts her take off. Constanze flies past the waiting others and towards Jasminka, passing the baton in one quick move.

Just as Amanda told me, Jasminka seems to excel in raw magic, as she easily gains distance from the platform, speeding away on the straight circuit with incredible speed. Not long after, Lotte finally arrives at the second checkpoint and passes her baton to Sucy, who immediately speeds away in chase of Jasminka, who is apparently snacking and sitting sideways on her broom while in such a speed.

"That girl". I say, anxiously biting my fingernails.

"That's Jasminka for you". Amanda sighs and shrugs.

Just as I start to worry Jasminka gives me a real reason to, she suddenly changes course, away from the circuit and the race.

"What in the ding dong diddly is she doing!?". I blurt out.

The situation took the direst of turns that even Amanda is panicking. "Oh no! She's off course! What do we do- Jericho?".

/-/

Dammit dammit dammit, I keep saying to myself as I run through the forest as fast as my legs can take me, desperately searching for the lost racer.

"Jasminka where the hell are you!?". I shout through the woods, not getting any bit of response.

Thankfully not too long after I found her following what seems to be a path of bagels hanged from tree branches.

"Jasminka!". I shout to her, stopping her eating spree as she finally realizes what she's done.

"whoops". She let's out a muffled yelp.

She immediately turns her broom and changes her direction towards me.

"what are you doing? Get that thing out of here". I hastily rip a bagel off her hand and throw it away from us, it lands with and odd clacking noise as it hits the ground far from us. I continue to push Jasminka towards the right direction.

"look Jasminka, look!". I point ahead. "you see that? The tower, and that is the right direction, the only direction, which is victory!".

I push her with all my might, giving her a jump start.

"now go! Win the race for me! I mean us! Us!". I shout to her as she starts to speed away from me, vanishing between the trees.

I rest my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. Good god, running after carrying that iron cage is not fun at all. I feel like my knees are going to melt at any second. No matter, what's important is my job here is done, now I just have to pray that Amanda can win against Diana. I pull out my wand and try to contact the girl, a floating screen projects from it's tip, revealing Amanda's face in it.

"job's done, she's all yours now". I say in between labored breaths

"i don't know what you did but good job! She's closing in now". Amanda says. She finally notices my tired state after a moment.

"you alright?". she asks, a very faint drop of concern in her voice.

"I'm fantastic right now, no thanks to you".

"Whoops, can't talk right now she's almost here I need to prepare my secret weapon bye!". Amanda closes the call as she's about to take off, or maybe she's trying to escape my accusation. I sigh as I lean back on a tree, trying to rest my currently melting legs. God I hope that girl doesn't somehow found a way to royally mess this up.

I try to rest for now, there's nothing more I can do now, yes I can guide Amanda to victory through the bracelet, but are you seriously thinking I'm a better broom rider than Amanda?

I suddenly hear something fast flying towards me, nearly hitting me if I didn't jump away in time. I landed rough on the ground and quickly look back towards the mysterious assailant, expecting an off course broom rider, only to find an unmanned chained red metal broom speeding away from me, leaving a trail of dust as it speeds away just above the ground.

"What is that?!". I yelp.

The red broom speeds away on the directions of the race, despite the fatigue my curiosity got the best of me and I start following the broom. Running towards the direction I last saw it fly to. I ran through the woods, catching short glimpses of the unidentified flying object, I keep on following it for a moment, until it pulls up and flies upwards, vanishing beyond the clouds. That's a place I can't follow.

"dammit". I mutter as I try to catch my breath once again, I'm starting to think chasing that thing was not a smart idea.

A gush of wind blows past me, I turn away to see that Diana had just flown past me with incredible speed.

"Diana leads the race! What an unexpected turn of events!". The announcer's voice booms from far away.

"Oh no!". I blurt out. What in the world is that silly girl doing?

I quickly continue my running despite my exhaustion, this time on the direction of the finish line while I try to contact Amanda.

"pick up pick up pick up". I plea as I keep trying to contact her.

Thankfully, Amanda finally picks up the call.

"Where are you!?". I hastily ask.

"I've ran into some troubles!". Amanda blurts out. "Don't worry I have everything under control!".

"Under control really!?". I cry out. "Come on, O'Neill, you have to win for me, I mean us! for the team dammit!".

After more painful running, I finally reach the finish line. I immediately look towards the circuit tracks, fearing that Diana might appear on the far horizon at any minute. Thankfully she's not here yet. I try to breath slowly to calm myself down, I don't think I can run anymore today. I look to the giant floating screen as I rest my hands on my knees. Apparently Diana is still in the lead, hooray.

"Dammit what is that girl doing?". I fret, still trying to catch my breath.

"What's this!? Akko seems to appear out of nowhere and is closing in on Diana!". The announcer's voice booms through the floating screen followed by gasps and cheers from the spectators not far from me.

"What!?". I look up towards the screen in disbelieve, and to my surprise, the girl who couldn't ride a broom days ago is now neck and neck with the most talented girl in the school.

"What!".

Akko quickly closes in towards Diana, to my surprise she's riding, or more correctly, chained onto the red broom that tried to assault me earlier.

I would've lost my marbles if Amanda hadn't shown up behind her soon after. Quickly closing the distance as she flies with amazing speed and agility. But for whatever reasons, she continues to try to catch Akko, who easily dodges her attempts at grabbing on to her. Akko easily speeds away from her, leaving Amanda far behind.

This looks bad, she somehow can't even speed past Akko, and Diana is still far ahead. She must have tired herself to catch up to her because of the late baton pass. At this rate she'll lose the race.

I try to think of anything, but in truth I have absolutely no idea about this kind of things. Come on, think, think! The extent of my knowledge that has any relation to racing is only those toy race cars from Japan, yes I used to watch and play that it was fun. But god dammit why? I need something serious, I got to stop thinking about toy race cars…

An idea crosses my head. It's not a smart idea but it's still an idea. I quickly try to contact Amanda once again to share it.

"Amanda can you hear me!?". I shout.

"Yes I can! But now's not really a good time!". she shouts, her voice nearly inaudible due to the wind.

"Amanda! Follow Akko but don't try to overtake her!". I shout.

"what? Why?". she asks, completely puzzled by my request.

"Just do it! Trust me!". I tell her. If this works I don't know whether I'm a genius or an idiot, maybe both.

After a moment of hesitation, she finally agrees and tries to catch up to Akko once again, but this time she patiently waits just behind her, not attempting to overtake her. My plan appears to have worked as she apparently has no trouble keeping up to Akko now.

"good! It's working! We're now on the slipstream of her broom!". I explain, still not believing this is working. "save your energy this way and use everything and I mean everything in the last second only! You'll have to throw in your all but only in the very last second, once Diana and Akko exhaust each other that's where you slip out from behind her and use all your magic!".

"Okay, I trust you!". Amanda shouts.

This sounds great in theory but I'm still worried about the other two, especially Diana.

"God this is going to be absolutely to the wire". I gulp. "This will be our shot at victory, O'Neill, don't you dare lose me the bet- I mean let down the team! The majority of the team will be let down!"

"You're not helping!"

The three raced through the tracks with incredible display of skills, turning on each corner with amazing agility and speeding away on the straight tracks with awesome speed. While Diana and Akko struggles to achieve the first place, Amanda bides her magic just as planned, saving her magic while still being able to keep up with the two due to the reduced wind friction. I'm such a scientist.

The three races through the last turn in the circuit, now finally visible out there in the distance instead of on the floating screen. What's left is a straight track where top speed is the only thing that matters.

"What an intense dead heat! They've rounded the final bend!". The announcer's voice booms over the loud cheers among the spectators. "who will claim victory?!".

"Should I go?!". Amanda asks through the bracelet.

"No! You have to stay steady!".

"Are you sure?! we're closing in!".

"I'm very sure, you'll go only when I say so, sister". I try to assure her.

The three comes closer and closer, Amanda still patiently waits behind while the two tries to race each other for the first place.

"Steady, steady….". I say, trying to sound as calm as possible.

As the three comes close to the finishing line, I notice Akko's broom starts to rattle and shake, she's beginning to lose hold on her broom. slowing her down in the process. This is it, it's do or die, it's gonna be die.

"Now Amanda now!". I shout.

"Urrrraaaaah!". Amanda cries as she immediately pulls her broom away from the slipstream.

Amanda quickly speeds forward, immediately closing the distance at the two racers as she uses all her conserved magic for a last second push. The difference in speed was significant, as Amanda has just used her conserved magic in the last seconds where both Akko and Diana had used their magic trying to best each other the whole time, winding their magic in the process. As Akko seems to lost grip of her broom and starts to fall behind, Amanda easily speeds past her, and in a split second she bests Diana, overtaking her and taking the first place. Before the spectators and the announcers can react to the sudden change of situation, Amanda flies past the finish line.

"What- what incredible speed! Amanda wins the race!".

The spectators went wild. Cheers were shouted and rounds of applause are made as Amanda finally breaks away and lands from her flight, creating a cloud of smoke in the process. As soon as Amanda lands on her feet crowds had already formed around her, cheering and congratulating her. Before Amanda could do anything the press is already all over her.

I nearly laugh at the absurdity and success of my plan, I can't help but feel the same hype and joy as the others.

"Jericho!". Amanda shouts from the middle of the crowds. "We did it!".

"You did it!". I shout, trying to get past the sea of crowds. Before I got close to her however I was stopped as a group of students hands her a giant of a trophy, blocking my path. As Amanda grabs hold of the trophy, a bunch of students starts to pick her up and lift her high up on the air.

I realize that I'm too happy for someone not participating in the race, and people wouldn't think I helped her win one bit. But before I can feel left out, out of nowhere, Jasminka was already beside me, Constanze's robot held in her hands. She towards me as if offering me a trophy.

"What? Is this my trophy?". I chuckle. "I can't think of an- Aaah!".

As I grab hold of the robot, Jasminka quickly picks me up with ease and lifts me to the air just like the students did to Amanda, throwing me up on the air with the robot in hand. Constanze herself was throwing her arms in the air, excited written everywhere but her still monotone face.

"Dude we won! You did it!". Amanda cheers from across the sea of crowds, we're both being lifted high up in the air.

"We won! I'm a goddamn genius!". I cheer, unable to contain my laughter. I Lift my trophy high up while Amanda lift hers.

"You're a goddamn Sun Tzu!". Amanda shouts.

A loud whistle cuts through the air, silencing and catching the attention of the whole crowd. Miss Nelson lowers her broom nearby, a card in her hand.

"I'm sorry green team but you get a red card! You're disqualified for failing the baton pass!". Miss Nelson's voice booms past the silenced crowd, she holds out a red card towards Amanda.

The whole scene comes to a pause, the atmosphere of joy completely butchered by the whistle and the news Miss Nelson delivered. No sound came and no one moves, time felt like it froze.

I grab Amanda's sleeve and lift her hand up. Revealing not a baton but a bagel on her wrist.

"What?". Amanda murmurs, failing to hide her shock and confusion. She tries to force a smile, expecting this is nothing but a bad joke.

That bagel, that bagel that I threw earlier in the forest was in fact not a bagel at all.

I slowly get off of Jasminka's hold and land my feet on the ground, carefully putting Constanze's robot next to me.

"Wha… Then- then the winner is… Diana Cavendish…". The announcer says, her voice heavy with hesitation.

All heads turn to the girl who had just landed not far from us, supporting a bruise covered Akko by her shoulders. Lotte and Sucy not far from them with brooms in hand.

"What?". Amanda murmurs again, disbelieve written all over her face as the realization finally sets in, that she indeed lost the race. She still holds her trophy as the students lowers her to her feet.

No one seems to do anything for a moment as Amanda stands in the center of the crowd, still clutching her trophy tightly. All eyes are set on her and not all of them empathetic. The crowd around us looks to her, as if waiting anxiously on how the girl will react.

Seeing this, Jasminka approaches her friend and puts her hand on Amanda's. Jasminka gently pulls Amanda's hand away from the trophy, and carefully removes the trophy away from Amanda's hands. She then hands the trophy to Miss Nelson, who flies quickly past us towards the newly announced victors, handing the trophy to Diana who takes a hesitant pause before accepting it.

I start to hear faint whispers and muffled laughter coming from the crowd. I can feel ill gazes directed towards the brooding Amanda.

"What a disappointment".

"Wow, she cheated".

"She must have been so desperate".

"Should have known, a girl like her".

The crowd slowly disperses, leaving just me, Amanda, Jasminka and Constanze.

I look towards Diana and Akko, who is now covered in attention, both of them looks visibly uncomfortable with the situation, throwing worried glances towards us every now and then.

Jasminka was the first to stir. She walks towards Amanda's broom, it's handle dirtied and it's bristles bent by the recent stampede of crowds. She carefully picks it up and begins to dust it off and try her best to straighten it's bristles. But she stops halfway and begins to walk slowly towards Amanda, who's currently gazing to the newly gathered crowd around Diana and Akko.

I purposely keep on looking towards Diana and Akko. I can't bear to turn my head towards Amanda, I'm afraid of what I'd see or hear.

"Amanda". Jasminka calls to her friend. I keep looking away, can't bear to witness the lash of emotion at any moment.

"Oh, Jasminka". Amanda turns to her friend.

"I'm… I'm sorry". Jasminka apologizes, her voice shaky and the broom she's holding begins to tremble as her hands quivers.

I keep looking away from them, unable to bear seeing their faces.

"Hah? don't worry about it".

Her calm response surprises me. I turn to look at the two. Jasminka is indeed on the brink of breaking into tears, but Amanda looks surprisingly easy, she's the one who's trying to comfort Jasminka who now hangs her head, unable to bring herself to face her friend.

"Don't worry, it's not your fault". Amanda says, a warm smile present.

"But I- but I… the baton pass….". Jasminka tightens her grip on the broom as tears starts to drip on it.

"Hey, it's alright, you did your best". Amanda places a hand on Jasminka's shoulder, comforting the sobbing girl.

Jasminka finally lifts her head up. "but…".

"Everyone makes mistakes". Amanda smiles, taking the broom from Jasminka's shaky hands. "Besides, it's just a game".

Jasminka, starts to sniffle as she tries to hold on her tears, but fails miserably as she breaks into a full cry.

"Heheh, there there". Amanda pulls out a handkerchief from Jasminka's pocket and starts to dry Jasminka's teary cheeks.

Amanda chuckles. "I think we're running out of handkerchiefs- oof!". Amanda was interrupted when Jasminka suddenly pulls her into a tight hug.

"Ah! Constanze, I need help!". Constanze quickly approaches her friend to help her escape, only to get pulled in herself to the group hug.

After a full minute, Jasminka finally calms down and releases her hug, setting her friends free.

They hug for a full minute, only after Jasminka feels like it does the group hug end. "That's enough hugging for today". Amanda chuckles.

Amanda's eyes meet mine. "Ah, sorry for not pulling you into the hug, dude".

She offers a smile, but I can't return it. I throw my gaze away. "You're fine with…"

"Hey, it's alright, really".

"But that-"

"-Was nothing, it's just a game. Now let's head back, maybe we can get some ice creams along if the cafeteria still has it".

Her calmness was baffling and I find it impossible to know if there's anything hidden underneath it, or if there's anything hidden underneath it to begin with.

Jasminka smiles and nods, her cheeks still wet but she's already warm inside. "Yeah".

Amanda grins and carry her broom on her shoulder. "Alrighty then, let's go". She beckons to her two friends as she starts to walk towards the school.

Constanze's Stanbot begins to follow the three, but stops halfway as it turns to look at me, it tilts it's head in confusion as it notices me not following them. Amanda too notices my silence, she turns to me but I speak first.

"I have somewhere to go, go ahead without me".

Amanda seems a bit puzzled at my answer, but she lets it slide and leaves me be. "Alright, your loss. I'll see you tomorrow man".

Jasminka and Constanze says their own goodbyes and follows her friend back inside.

Amanda was incredibly calm, I didn't expect her to be like that. I'd expected she'd show more emotions, be it rage or even sorrow. I don't know why but seeing her not too affected by what happened throws me off more than it should. She accepted it so easily.

Isn't that good? Isn't that the best way to deal with this situation?

The way she reacted to Jasminka, I'd never expected to see that side of her. She's a good girl, inspite of her rebellious nature I can feel that, but I didn't expect her to show it so warmly and openly to her friends.

However, I can't shake off this empty feeling in my chest, knowing I took part in her disqualification. It's far worse when you realize I'm not even part of her team.

I stopped on my thoughts as I realize the robot is still here with me. It looks back and forth between me and the three, seemingly confused with me still being her.

After one last look towards me, the robot starts to run its way to the three.

I look around now abandoned field, only a handful of students and staffs remain as the sun is ready to dip into the horizon, setting a gold background on the dusk sky.

Things absolutely took an unexpected turn.

/-/

I walk back through the long hallways on my way back to my room, the dusk sky basking the hallways with it's warm golden light. I was on my own for most of the time, I didn't find anybody save for a few elves and goblins walking through the hallways. Or perhaps I did, just that I'm too preoccupied with my thoughts to notice. As I think of this however, a familiar face stands not far from me, gazing onto a wooden display in the middle of the hallway.

"Jericho". Diana speaks as she notices my arrival.

"Hi". I tiredly speak as I make a weary smile.

Concern clouds her eyes as she fall silent for a moment, thinking of what to say to me.

"I'm very sorry". she finally says, her worries bearing weight on her voice.

"Nope". I turn towards the window, gazing outside towards the golden basked forest. "You don't need to apologize, you won fair and square". I tell her, turning to look at her as I give her a reassuring smile.

She looks to me for a moment, unsure of my words.

I walk up beside her and look to the wooden display. Inside sits various photographs, all with different girls of three holding up a cup.

Each photo stirs different feelings inside me, each photograph holds a story, all of them different from each other. Different peoples with different stories and feelings, all forever remembered inside a wooden display down the hallway of Luna Nova, all smiling in joy as they're remembered at that day as victors.

I can't help but imagine the stories behind this photographs, what stories they tell, what the person inside was like, how they lived, how they feel, how they talk, how they joked, what was happening before and after the photo was taken, how would it feel if I was in that moment, all that thought races through my head.

But there is one picture that stands out the most, a picture where a girl doesn't smile like the others around her. The girl's eyes filled with hesitation and guilt as she gazes towards the camera, towards me.

"You're not smiling". I joke.

"Yes, how could I?". Diana says with a low voice, a rare thing to hear from her.

I smile. "It's alright Diana, you did nothing wrong".

I turn around and begin to make my leave. But before I could step too far, Diana speaks again.

"Jericho".

She hesitates for a moment, before finally saying "I… I'll see you tomorrow".

"I'll see you too" I smile to her.

She finally returns my smile, the first time in our small talk. I end the talk as I turn to continue my walk back to my room, away from Diana and away from the emotional roller coaster that is today.

My footsteps the only one resounding in the now dark hallways, reminding me that I am finally alone.

 **Author's Notes: well, that was indeed an emotional roller coaster. I'm very very glad i sent this to my editor first, if i didn't the conclusion of this chapter wouldn't be like this at all. It would've been very short and shallow. So shoutout to my loyal editor in chief (chief because he's the only one) RomanViking himself. Yessir, I employed him.**

 **Jokes about dominance in the harem LWA fanfic market aside, i'm really happy with the results of this chapter, As i'm typing this the 19th chapter is already done, surprisingly. But unfortunately, or fortunately in my opinion, you won't see it soon, since i'll completely revise it. Yeah it may sound unfortunate but the original 18th chapter goes very different from the final version. And thus opens up to more possibilities and far less restrictions for the next chapters. Quite simply, the 19th chapter needs to wait as i remake it to fit the final version of the 18th chapter, which i'm very glad to do so actually.**

 **Before I take my leave, if you, yes you! want to know when a chapter is out immediately and want to emotionally support me, you can click that follow and favorite album, click the subscribe button even and share this fanfic with your friends, family, and even work associates. Adding this fic to your follow and favorite is a fantastic way to support the writer. That's right it's you, yes you people who makes me want to write, so be a good reader and extend my reach- I mean support by being a good loyal reader slave- I mean being supportive af by clicking that follow and favorite. So cheers, have a good one, and i'll see you in the next one.**

 _ **Peace out.**_


	14. Movie Night And The Problems It Entail

**Author's Notes: (25/07/18), chapter 6 until chapter 16 has been reworked, if you see this same message on any chapter, it means that that chapter is affected by the rework and its advisable for you to go back and read chapter 6 until chapter 9 because EVERYTHING in those chapters has been reworked. Continuing on without going back will only lead you to a path of ruin and confusion! So do it now!**

 **It's true that chapter 10 to 16 are reworked too, but they changed less compared to chapter 6-9 and have little effect on the story overall so its optional to reread them.**

 **Sorry for the inconvenience!**

* * *

I just realized something earlier this morning. Yesterday in the thick of the moment, I fail to notice one very important thing.

Amanda forgot to return the bracelet I lent her for the race.

It's a trivial problem, of course. But now that I think about it, I haven't got any idea on how to open up a conversation with her, not after what happened yesterday.

I know she's cool about it all, but I still feel uncomfortable to just walk up to her and act the way she wants me to act like nothing happened yesterday.

Whatever I'll decide to do, it'll have to be decided later. For now class is what's on my mind. On my way to said class however, I found a familiar face standing by the class door, about to open it but stopping as she notices my arrival.

"oh, hey". Akko greets me, her voice lost her usual cheerful tone.

"hi". I greet her back, bereft of any tone with the awkward situation.

"hey, I'm really sorry for what happened yesterday". she apologizes.

"oh, you knew about that?". Well then, does that mean they know about me now?

"Yeah, Diana told me about you helping Amanda's team". she pauses as her eyes begins to search the ground. "I feel like I'm…".

"Don't say it, you did nothing wrong".

She looks up to me. "but".

"we're both losers, what are you apologizing for?". I joke, trying to lift her spirits up. A not cheerful Akko is very disheartening.

She smiles a bit hearing it, her worries beginning to fade.

"yeah, we are".

It's weird, I'm supposed to be the one needing to be cheered up but here I am cheering up someone else so far. Guess it's the price of being the only male in an all girls school. Before I can further cheer her up however, the door to the classroom opens, revealing Lotte and Sucy.

"Akko, what are you- oh, hey". Lotte was the first to notice me.

"hi Lotte, Sucy". I greet them.

Lotte looks to me, concern clouds her eyes.

"hey, about yesterday-".

"nope! No no, don't make me say it twice!". I quickly respond.

Akko seems to giggle at my reaction, her past worries beginning to go away with it.

"besides, it's literally our own fault we lose". I finish.

Lotte wears a sad smile, but she's smiling, at least. "Fine, if you say so".

I smile seeing how nice this girls are, all except for only one maybe.

"what about you Sucy? Are you not going to apologize to me?". I jokingly ask.

Instead of throwing a sharp snark or even a halfhearted apology, she just stays silent. Sucy just turn away and walk back into the classroom.

"Gosh that girl". Akko sighs quietly. She then turns to look at me with a smile. "come on, you'll sit with us right?". she asks, excitement back in her voice.

I was a bit taken aback by her quick recovery.

"wha? Yeah, I… think".

"great! It's been awhile!". Akko skips into the classroom.

"my, she's too excited too quickly". Lotte remarks, I notice hints of relief in her voice.

"that's good isn't it?". I mention, truly admitting it.

"I guess you can see it like that". Lotte smiles, before stepping into the classroom ahead of me. "come on, let's seat together, Aldia".

"sure- what". I pause and stop as Lotte continues to walk ahead of me, oblivious to my shock.

I hear the sound of footsteps behind me and soon find Hannah and Barbara walking past me. "You're lucky Diana didn't tell them". Batma- Barbara begins.

"But you're still not allowed to hang with us anymore". Hannah finishes.

I pause at the news I had just received. I hear another set of footsteps behind me, as I turn around I found Diana right in front of me.

"Technically you won, so I only told them about your involvement with Amanda's team, the rest is up to you". She says with a bright smile that lingers still as she walks past me, a real, genuine smile.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah, did my ears deceive me? This news is godsend, this girl is godsend. Why is she so nice? This level of niceness is unprecedented!

I have to take a moment to breathe to take this all in.

By the time I entered at the classroom students has already filled the room. All of them has picked their tables, it looks like I'm the last one to arrive.

"if you don't mind, Mr. Franklin". a voice calls out behind me, it sends chill down my spine.

"ah! Miss Finnelan!". I visibly jump at her presence. I didn't realize I was blocking the door just now.

She looks at me with her signature stern and soul piercing gaze. I smile awkwardly, hoping if I stand still she will just walk away, like a T-Rex stand off this is.

To my relief, she says nothing else and walks past me. Heading to her desk on the front of the room. That worked wow.

I look to the crowd of students, wondering which table to pick.

I notice a hand waving at the far back. It's Akko, doing exactly what she said she would and picked the back most table.

Seeing I have no other choice, I walk to her table. Sure I can just join Diana's table and be a nuisance to Hannah and Barbara, but I feel like I have some catching up to do with Akko's group, it's been awhile after all.

The class starts not long after, ooh boy alchemy class. It's great, the alchemy I mean, the teacher not so much. It's not like miss Finellan is a bad teacher, she just has this special ability to make any person in a 5 meter radius around her feel intimidated. It's like she's using some kind of dark magic to do this.

Anyway, it looks like we're learning to brew a bunch of potions as usual. Good thing Akko picked the back table, out of sight and out of miss Finnelan's mind thankfully. We're free to brew the instructed potions as an exercise, so the class isn't so strict right now as students are free to walk around grabbing needed equipments and ingredients.

The conversation within our group pretty much consist of just Lotte guiding Akko brewing potions, as I just absent mindedly do whatever I'm asked to do, following instructions automatically as if I'm in autopilot mode. Passing bottles and ingredients every now and then as I'm lost in thought. I'm wondering if miss Finnelan will teach us how to brew hair growth potion. Why am I wondering this? For research purposes of course, but I guess she won't teach us that to be honest. Eh, I can just ask Michelle to just brew me another one, but she's going to have this smug look if I ask her that, maybe I can find the recipe in a book or something, craft it from scratch.

I hear a sizzling sound, reeling me from my train of thought. I quickly stop what I'm doing. Apparently I've peen stirring this potion with a spoon while I'm zoned out, I've been doing this for awhile now I realize. I study the potion I had been stirring, it looks… evil. What in the world am I brewing? I slowly pull out the spoon, and to my surprise, it's only half a spoon, the rest has been dissolved by the potion.

I was alarmed as the potion suddenly begins to bubble. I quickly grab a lid and seal the potion, securing it and putting it far from the table's end. The glass containing the potion begins to shake, I see some smoke coming out of the lid, and I'm starting to freak out as I feel the glass heating up on my hands. I immediately search around for a bigger and stronger container, settling with an old looking thick jar. I quickly put the glass inside of it and seal it. Luckily, the shaking soon ceases and so does my rapid heartbeat.

It's fine, I'm fine.

I quickly look around, the three didn't notice what happened, good. Just need to dispose of this hell spawn once we're out of here.

I stop and notice what Sucy's doing, she's quiet as usual. Doing her own business, which is brewing potions right now. The same look as always, eyes lazily fixed on her work as she grinds an ingredient in a mortar with a pestle.

"aah! I put in too much!". Akko exclaims, catching my and other student's attention.

The cauldron in the middle of our table begins to shake, as a thick smoke followed by a foul odour begins to spread from it. I cover my nose as the smoke nears me, the smell is sharp and unbearable. I notice Sucy pulling out a gas mask and easily putting it on, looks like she's used to this situation.

"quick! Put this in!". Lotte shoves a bunch of ingredients on to Akko's arms. "if you're too slow the mixture's going to blow up!".

"oh no!". Akko immediately does as she's told, putting the ingredients into the mixture and quickly stirring it. The effects begins to set in as the shaking soon ceases and the smoke and it's foul odour clears away. We were saved.

"good grief". I breath in, grasping for fresh air.

"hah, that was a close one". Akko breaths a sigh of relief.

"it's all right, you could've done worse for a beginner". Lotte says, cleaning her glasses from the vapour. "you stopped it from blowing up in the end, that's good".

"I guess". Akko rests on the table, tired from all the vigorous stirring.

I would say one or two witty things, but considering what I just accomplished moments ago, I suppose the wise choice is not to. I look to Sucy instead. She should have something to say, funny or painful, or both. To my complete surprise, she continues her work as if nothing happened, not even bothering to look up from her work as she continues brewing her potion in silence. That's… odd.

My attention was pulled away as I heard another sizzling sound, it's from the thick jar I'm holding down. I quickly open it's lid, fearing the worst. As I finish opening the lid, I find that the jar is empty. Not just that, a sizeable hole is now at the jar's bottom, and through that hole I can see another hole, and through that second hole I can see a third hole.

I close the lid, trying my hardest to stay calm and look like everything is fine. Apparently,the potion seems to have burnt through the jar, the table, and the floor.

I crouch and look under the table. Indeed, a hole is left on the table and the wooden floor. Hints of smoke still lingers from the recent burn. I hope no one's below there.

It's fine, it's fine, you're fine.

I rise from below the table, no one seems to notice, good. I try to pretend as if nothing happened, pretending to work as I grind an empty mortar and pour empty vials. Doing whatever to look normal. I'm starting to think zoning out in the middle of an alchemy class is not a great idea.

I take a glance at Akko and Lotte, they're busy brewing potions as Lotte guides Akko through. I shift my gaze to Sucy, who's still brewing her potion, which looks thick and dark, and… evil. I'm starting to think she's not doing as instructed and is just brewing to her heart's desires.

I move slowly towards Sucy, settling beside her now.

"Sucy". I quaver quietly, not intending to do so. "Sucy I'm not doing fine".

"hm". she answers. Not looking away from her work.

"Sucy!". I call out to her a bit louder, voice still quavering.

"hmm". she answers, a bit louder this time.

"sorry for bothering you, I'm really really not doing well right now". I whisper to her, trying not to catch the attention of Akko and Lotte.

Sucy sighs. "what do you want?". she asks, her voice plain and monotone.

"can I just hang with you and pretend I'm helping you? Just seeing what you're doing maybe?". I ask, practically begging to her.

"fine". she answers, not a single hint of emotion in her voice.

"really? Thanks!". I thank her, receiving no welcome or anything, as expected.

I continue to observe her work. She's currently invested in her work, focused and unaffected by my presence at all. Grinding brittle ingredients into soft powders and boiling raw ingredients to soft, cooked ingredients. Cutting and crushing herbs and extracting it's valuable parts, putting the useful and useless bits into neatly separate and organized piles. Her work station is very neat and organized, every ingredient sorted together for what I can only guess it's use. Jars of powder, liquids and raw ingredients neatly organized according to their colours, setting an impressive display of efficiency and beauty on the table. The complete contrast of what every other member of the team, me included, has achieved.

She's very observant and sharp with her potions, it's like a work of art. Every drop and ounce of her ingredients is sharply accurate and proportionate, every drop she makes and every ingredient she added is all calculated with such precision. She works with such grace and fluidity, watching her crafting her work is oddly captivating. It never ceases to surprise me even after knowing how good she is with potions.

She pours the contents of the cauldron into a glass vial, securing it with a seal. She holds the vial up, shaking it and observing the results of her brew. The liquid inside is a beautiful colour of deep purple, sunlight gleaming off it's glass surface. She smiles at her work, indicating that her work is complete and that it is, indeed, a success.

"wow". I marvel at the glass vial she's holding.

She continues to put the vial inside her pocket, away from the sight of others.

"eh, Sucy". I call to her.

"hm?". she looks to me.

"what is that?". I ask, deeply curious with her work.

"nothing". she answers, looking back on her work station.

"I'm almost absolutely certain that wasn't nothing". I say worriedly, not even bothering to ask any further. It's Sucy after all.

I look to my other team mate, Akko pouring the contents of her cauldron into a glass vial while Lotte stays behind coaching her diligently. They're working surprisingly well, , they finally managed to brew the potion as Akko holds the glass vial up triumphantly, Lotte giving her a quite round applause. Even though they, well, Akko, made lots of mistakes, she didn't give up but instead keeps trying to brew the potion correctly. Lotte too never stops helping her friend, guiding her and giving helpful advices but doesn't try to interfere too much, intending to not hold her hand too much. In spite of the various mistakes and difficulties, they finally did it in the end.

That also means, I'm the least productive member of the team, for today.

"you should use a teaspoon of crushed bone instead of three". Sucy suddenly speaks, pulling my attention away from the two.

"sorry?". I ask her.

"your potion, you put in three teaspoon instead of one, that's why it happened".

"oh, t-thanks". I stammer, just realizing what she's meaning.

I look away from Sucy towards the thick jar that hides the hole in the table. I feel my face turning quite red as I realize she saw everything. Well at least she's not the type to tell others about this, or is she?

I didn't get the chance to feel more embarrassed as miss Finnelan tells the students to gather and return the ingredients and tools to their respective cabinets and shelves around the class, signalling the class's end.

I breath a sigh of relief, finally, an end to this mess. I see that Akko and Lotte are gathering their ingredients and tools together, hands full but they got all of them. Sucy too returns her tools and ingredients with them. While me, I'm left with a holed and broken glass jar, an old thick jar that is equally broken and a spoon that is melted beyond all recognition.

I very slowly put them under the table, pushing it further with my leg so no one won't notice it. I look around the class as I do this. No one seems to notice, good.

I notice Sucy returning to the table, apparently she needs to go back and forth with the tools and ingredients since she has taken so much.

"ah, Sucy, do you need help?". I offer.

She doesn't respond at all, but I help her nonetheless. Despite her silence, she doesn't seem to reject my help. I begin picking up the various jars of ingredients, piling them up on my hands. She picked so many ingredients, and they all look very peculiar. Dried fingers, petrified creatures, pickled… things, crushed butterfly wings and a…

"ah!". I quickly throw a jar of ingredient to the air in panic.

I close my eyes as the glass jar nears the floor, expecting to hear it break any time soon. But the sound never came, and as I open my eyes, I realize that Sucy just caught the glass jar, saving it from the fall.

"ahahah". I laugh nervously, I must look like an idiot.

She looks back and forth between me and the jar she's holding, a bee is inside it. A bee.

After a brief moment of just staring at me, she finally walks past me and puts the jar of bee inside the cabinet, closing it as she's finished.

I breath a deep sigh of relief as she finishes disposing the hell spawn, good god.

"thanks Sucy-".

She doesn't wait to hear my thank you as she continues to leave the classroom. leaving me all by myself with hands full of jars of ingredients and other tools. I look around the classroom, Akko and Lotte aren't here, maybe they're already outside.

I quickly put the ingredients and tools into the cabinets and shelves, putting them neatly and quickly, as I don't want to make my friends wait. The class is almost empty when I finish putting the ingredients and tools back, since I spent a not so short time organizing them neatly according to their colours and sizes. Can't help myself.

With a feeling of accomplishment and pride, I walk outside the classroom, hoping I didn't make my friends wait too long.

As soon as I exit the class however, I only find Sucy out here waiting, no sign of Akko nor Lotte anywhere.

"Sucy, where's the others?". I ask her.

"Akko needed to wash her hands". Sucy answers shortly. Not even bothering to look at me as she looks towards the window and what's outside. I suppose she's not in the mood to talk. Wait that's normal.

I lean myself on the wall, nothing else to do, as I wait for Akko and Lotte's return. All the students had already left moments ago, eager to end the day and do whatever they do after school. Which reminds me, I still have unfinished business with Amanda and her friends, I wonder what are they doing now.

I stop my thoughts and look towards Sucy, who remains silent and still keeps staring out the window. That must be one mighty interesting window.

"hey Sucy". I call to her, receiving not a single response from her.

"Sucy…". I call again, this time a bit louder.

"hmm". she answers.

"how are you so good at potion making?". I ask her.

"I don't know". Her answer is short again, dismissing my question and the conversation quickly.

"hehh, mean". I mumble. She's really not in the mood for talking today, not just talking, she didn't spoke a single comment nor snark the entire day. She must be out of lines.

I look away, realizing our conversation won't go anywhere. I should feel awkward if I'm in this situation with any other person, but this feels more like… why? Why is this girl like this? Why?

Like a lifeline, Akko and Lotte finally arrives, catching our attention.

"finally you're back". I breath a sigh of relief.

"sorry to keep you waiting". Lotte says.

"yeah, ran into some situation back there". Akko says, smiling nervously as she scratches her head.

"did you wait too long?". Lotte asks.

"no no, we're alright, all fun. It's not a long wait but it does feel a long, since Sucy isn't talkative at all today". I joke.

"ah, she's like that sometimes". Lotte tells me.

I stop and notice Sucy walking away from us.

"ah, Sucy?". Akko calls out to her friend.

"I'm going back to our room". Sucy answers, not even bothering to look back or stopping. She keeps walking away towards the direction of the dormitories.

"ah, wait up!". Akko calls to her again as she begins to follow her, stopping and turning to me halfway. "I'll see you tomorrow Aldia!".

"ah, yeah". I wave my hand to her.

She waves her hand in reply, before turning around and catch up with her pale friend.

"my, they're really eager to leave". Lotte says, about to catch up with her two friends, but she stops and turns to me first. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow too?".

"yeah". I smile to her. "see you tomorrow".

With a sweet smile as her reply, she turns around and walks away from me, catching up with her friends.

How endearing they are.

I look outside the window, the sun is going to set soon, and school activities has stopped. It's time for the students and teachers to enjoy their free time.

Now, before I head back to my room, I have one last place, or people to visit. I wonder where they hang out after dark.

/-/

I walk through the long corridors of Luna Nova, the sound of creaking wood the only thing accompanying me and my footsteps. My destination is the garage first, since it's the closest. I need to at least have a talk with Amanda and her friends, just hanging out with them is enough even. Also I need to ask her my bracelet back, I keep forgetting that .

I haven't met a single person on my way there, leaving me alone with my own thoughts. It's actually quite relaxing, just walking like this. The long corridors with many windows overlooking the vast green forest beyond the school, the moon above casting it's moonlight on the now dark forest and the long and empty corridors. It's a great feeling, being alone with your thoughts with such a great view. There's something special with going into empty places during the night that are usually crowded during the day, it's an odd feeling I can't explain.

I see a light coming far on an intersection on the end of the corridor, if my memory serves, that left turn leads to the garage.

Once I reach the intersection I follow the light, and sure enough, below me is the garage. I'm on a platform overlooking it. But down there there's no sign of Amanda, Constanze nor Jasminka anywhere.

"Amanda? Constanze? Jasminka are you there?". I call out. Silence was my only reply.

I was about to turn around when the sound of something falling catches my attention, it's from the garage below.

"hello?". I call out again. There's still nobody down there, weird.

"umm… no….". a small, high pitched voice suddenly replies. "nobody here~".

Judging from it's voice, it must be a gnome. That explains why it's nowhere insight.

"oh, a gnome". I mumble to myself. "say sir gnome, have you seen a red haired girl, a short one with a ribbon and a pink haired one anywhere around here?". I ask the gnome.

"I said I'm not here!". the gnome replies angrily, though no one wouldn't be able to take it seriously with that voice.

"come on sir gnome, I just need a simple yes or no answer".

"never!". the gnome answers stubbornly.

I sigh hearing his reply, how am I going to do this?

"should I call HR? I'll tell them you're being rude to a student". I tell the gnome, trying to sound as threatening as possible.

"I am a gnome!". the gnome quickly protests.

"oh, right. I meant GR, I'll report you to the GR how's that?". I correct myself.

I can hear a loud whimper down there. "no no! Not the Gnome Resources! Please no!". the gnome begs.

"I won't call them unless you would stop being so rude to students and answer my question". I push him further.

"I will! I won't be rude and I will answer your question!". the gnome quickly replies, his voice quivering with fear.

"I don't know! Truly sir I don't know!" the gnome hastily answers.

Well, he does sound genuine. I doubt I'll get any more answers from this gnome.

"They're going to get me, they're going to get all of us! oh no! the horror!". the gnome continues to loudly whimper in fear, but I couldn't hear the rest of it since I immediately leave for the garage.

I was about to change my mind and head back until I catch a glimpse of a familiar inanimate animate object walking down the corridor. It seems to be carrying a carton of milk up above its head.

I follow the little fellow, thinking that it will lead me straight to the three.

As it notices my presence, the little robot stops to a halt, turns around and looks up to me. It stays like this for a moment before it looks away again and continues it's march.

Though already having a good guess of my question, I try my luck and make small talk with the robot. "Where are you going?".

"Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank-Albrechtsberger". It answers without pause.

"I-I see. May I follow?"

Still walking, the robot's head turns around to look at me briefly. "No! Area classified!".

"Well that doesn't matter because I'm going to follow you anyway". I tell it.

"No!". The robot skids to a halt and looks to me. "Classified! You can't come! Shoo!".

I try to follow him anyway once he resumes his walk, but every time I get too close it turns around and shoos me away over and over again.

The pattern begins to go clear, apparently if I stay far enough or just simply out of sight I'm not considered as trying to follow it. So I decided to keep my distance and hide from it's sight when it turns around, hiding through one corner to another as I follow him through the corridors and up the stairs. After a moment of doing this, I realize it's marching up the direction of the cafeteria, what is Constanze doing in there?

The robot soon reaches the tall double doors leading into the cafeteria. It tries to reach for the doorknob, but unfortunately its height stops it from reaching it.

I feel bad for the little thing, I was about to go and help it, but it continues to put the milk on the ground and uses it as a stepladder, enabling it to reach and turn the doorknob and finally conquering the wooden menace.

I silently applaud him from the pillar I'm hiding in.

The robot marches into the cafeteria, milk on it's head and pride on it's metal heart as it nears it's mission's end.

Sure enough, on the other end of the room I spot Amanda, Constanze and Jasminka. All huddled up on the floor.

The stairs creak as I make my way down, catching Constanze's attention first, but naturally it was Amanda who speaks first among the three. "Gosh, I thought you were a teacher".

She clearly thought so, judging from the brief terror on her face mere seconds ago.

She's drinking a box of milk, realizing I don't have any, she throws one at.

"Well it's not easy to discover it". I say as I try to catch the milk, it fumbles and I nearly dropped it to the floor- it fell.

I pick it up and dust it off, they all saw that.

"Jasminka". I nod to the girl, trying to pretend that didn't happen. A muffled 'hi' was her response. While a nod to Constanze gains me a nod in return.

"what are you guys doing by the way?". I ask, taking a seat at one of the chairs scattered across the room.

"well, you may not know this, but tonight is movie night!". Amanda declares.

"movie night?".I look to Constanze, she's sitting on the floor, beside her sits an odd machine which I can only guess Constanze made and that it is a film projector of some kind.

"but I thought the school doesn't have a movie night?". I ask.

"no you silly, it's _our_ movie night. Not the school's". Amanda explains. "you're free to join by the way, feel free to grab some snacks, and drinks. Make yourself comfortable". Amanda tells me, pushing her chair back to reveal piles of snacks of all shapes and colours on the long table behind her. Supplied by none other than Jasminka.

"neato". I remark. "but what happens when someone walks in? Are you going to run away and leave me to be a scapegoat?". I ask them.

Amanda chuckles at this. "no, no. We have the lookout team standing by, just need Constanze to finish them first". Amanda looks to Constanze. She's currently tweaking her robot, installing a radar of some sort on the top of its head.

Constanze puts the robot down as she finishes tweaking it. The robot gives the girl a salute in which she replies with her own salute. After they finish saluting each other, the robot quickly runs to the exit of the cafeteria.

"it'll tell us if anyone comes, so don't worry". Amanda explains.

I doubt he'll be so effective

"Anyway, what's the movie about?"

"ah, it's something I've watched when I was a kid, a cowboy film, a serial not a movie. It's my favourite back home". Amanda tells me. "Constanze and Jasminka never watches it, so I'm showing them".

"Well, where is it?"

"We ran into some problems with the projector, well, by we I mean Constanze". Amanda tells me, pointing to Constanze with her thumb. Constanze is currently focused on her second work, dismantling what seems to be the movie projector. Jasminka helping her by her side.

"one mechanical problem to another". I comment. "Well good thing I brought this thing. It's a magical jigsaw puzzle I bought back then in the magic items café".

"I don't know man, puzzles aren't really my thing". Amanda says, no sign of interest at all.

"Magical, jigsaw puzzle", I reiterate. "It really isn't my thing either but, get this, the pictures can change to anything the user wishes it to be! Exciting and wholesome fun for the whole family, ages +12. All trademarks of the…"

Amanda arches her brows. "Are you seriously reading the description?"

Instead of telling I decide to show, I slide the puzzle towards Amanda and try imagining an image in my head.

The previously blank jigsaw puzzle begins to stir and now an image of Napoleon crossing the Alps appears, complete with the beautiful landscape of the Alpine mountain ranges behind him.

"Oh wow it actually worked", I mumble.

"Woah". Amanda marvels, taking the puzzle from my hand. She says nothing for a moment, she just closes her eyes and wait. Moments later, my image fades and a new image appears on the puzzle. A black and white cartoon image of a Cowboy riding on a white horse now appears on the jigsaw.

Seeing this, Amanda smiles widely.

"Oh good grief how American". I chuckle, trying to stifle a condescending laugh.

"This is amazing! I like it!". Amanda exclaims, eyes still fixed on the puzzle.

"Told you". I tell her with pride. "who's that anyway?". I ask.

"It's the protagonist from the show we're about to watch". Amanda explains, studying the jigsaw and the picture on it. "I like him when I was little".

"He's like Lucky Luke then?"

"I don't know who that is".

The projector suddenly lights up and the show begins to roll, pulling our attention away from the puzzle. The movie begins with those old styled countdowns, counting down the start of the movie.

Jasminka turns off the lights, transforming the cafeteria into a temporary movie theatre. She grabs a bucket of popcorn and takes the front seat nearest to the screen, sharing the popcorn with Constanze beside her.

"This looks old". I remark.

"It's super old". Amanda says. "Go ahead and watch it while I finish this puzzle". she tells me.

"oh, so you're finally interested?". I ask.

"I can't say I'm not". Amanda says as she breaks the puzzles away, ready to reassemble it.

We're back here while Constanze and Jasminka sits in front of us, eagerly waiting for the film to begin.

I watch as the countdown ends, and the show finally begins. It's a very old cartoon, I can tell from how the film needs to cut to another scene to show what someone is saying in texts, it's a silent cartoon apparently. The scene starts with the great scenery of the great American plains. Blue mountains stretches far on the edge of the horizon and great green plains stretches as far as the eyes can see. A river runs through the plains, stretching far on the landscape. The camera follows the river, moving the scene to a rocky ridge, the river beneath it.

"it's a great show". Amanda remarks quietly, catching my attention.

She's picking pieces of the puzzle, studying each pieces carefully.

"what's so special about this person anyway?". I ask her.

"well…". Amanda smiles. "he's like a childhood hero for me alright?". she says, a very faint hint of embarrassment in her voice. That's a first.

" _your_ childhood hero?".

"I know, it's silly! There I said it!".

She pauses for a bit, pausing her work as she stops to think. "Did you know he's based on a real person?".

"He is?".

"Yeah, he's based from a popular folklore character". She puts a piece in it's place, slowly forming the white horse.

"Always seen with his signature hat, riding his trusty white stallion across the vast plains and deep forests. Outwitting his enemies and saving the innocents". she continues, smiling all the while. "That plays out at the beginning of the show, I used to watch old shows like this all the time when I was a kid".

She stops on her words to resume her work. I take it she doesn't want to bother me and ruin my movie experience.

I look back to the film, the scene still shows the river from before, but now an unconscious young man floats on the water. He was soon pulled away from the stream by an old man.

By the time the young man woke up, he finds himself on an unfamiliar bed inside an unfamiliar room. The old man seems to have brought him to his saloon, lending him a spare room for him to rest.

"Damn, this one doesn't fit". Amanda mumbles, catching my attention.

She's struggling with an empty spot on the puzzle, trying to find the correct piece.

"It does say ages 12 and above". I joke.

"Screw you man".

A loud gunshot surprises me. The young man from the movie nearly shot himself with a revolver, alarming the patrons of the saloon and me included.

"god that was loud, what an idiot". I say to myself.

"he's not an idiot, he's just clumsy". Amanda tells me.

"I thought you said he's a hero or something?". I ask her.

"well he is, but that doesn't mean he has to be those tough and unwavering super humans. He's not perfect, and that's what makes him perfect. Him being clumsy and full of mistakes is what makes him feel like a real person". Amanda explains.

"It's hard to relate with an all perfect hero, because they're simply too perfect, they have little similarities with us common folk. But a character with flaws like him, makes you feel like you have a chance to be a hero just like him".

I'm both surprised and amazed by her explanation, it's a side I didn't expect from Amanda.

"That's pretty deep". I remark.

"yeah, that was out of character wasn't it?". she chuckles. "Besides, isn't his clumsiness a bit endearing?".

"Endearing?".

Just as she says that, the young man falls from a horse he tried to ride, dirtying his clothes and catching some laughter from the onlookers.

"Gee, how endearing". Clumsiness isn't endearing, how absurd. "What was his name again?".

She doesn't reply to me, she just pauses and looks straight to me face.

"What?". I ask worriedly. "Is there- is there something on my face?".

"Sunny, Sunny Side Jr.". Amanda finally speaks, in perfect sync with the movie. Apparently she timed her answer perfectly with the character's introduction in the movie.

"What a terrible name, wow". I say, trying to stifle a laugh. "Oh that's too good though, how long did you wait for that opportunity?".

"Its better you don't know". Amanda answers. "And no, it's not a stupid name, it's silly, not stupid".  
"Ah, beg pardon". I chuckle.

Amanda stops assembling the puzzle and watches the film with me.

"when I was young I would sneak out to a friend's house just to watch the show".

She loses herself on her memories, watching the show with a warm smile and a nostalgic look in her bright green eyes.

I wouldn't want to break her trip to memory lane, but there is just one important thing I realized. "Wait so… is that the start of your rebellious career? Because of a cartoon?".

She immediately breaks away from her nostalgic trip and turns to me. "No of course not I- wait you're right, it is! When I was little dad always told me the TV is a bad influence, I guess he's right after all!"

"We've cracked the mystery, your dad is right TV is bad after all". I joke, both of us chuckling quietly.

Right now Sunny is lost in the middle of a forest, giant trees reaches far above, covering the sky and providing a canopy to the forest below. Right now Sunny is with his horse, a white and skinny horse that is, nothing charming about it at all. The horse looks much more like a burden to Sunny to me, making Sunny fall over and over and always doing what Sunny told him not to, and right now Sunny is struggling to pull the horse towards their destination, the complete opposite of what horses are supposed to do.

"That is one insufferable horse". I say.

"Mhm. The horse's name is Depona by the way". She says, returning to her work, putting a puzzle piece in it's place.

Sunny confidently steps into a dark cave while Depona stays outside. In there Sunny traverses the treacherous cave, filled with traps, traps, and more traps. Soon enough Sunny realizes this cave isn't completely natural, it's walls are lined with various decorations and paintings. Rusted and crumbled weapons and armours litter the stone floors. Oh and also traps, more traps litter the floor. What a surprise.

"What's going on here?". I ask.

"Don't ask just watch". Amanda says still focused on her puzzle.

After more traps, Sunny finally finds himself in front of a massive stone door. Curious and intricate paintings and carvings line the massive stone door, foreign words painted on the walls around it. It's a puzzle, apparently, as Sunny continues to pace around the room, trying to think of how to open the door.

After a not so short moment of thinking, Sunny suddenly looks up from his thinking as he finally comes up with something. looks like he figured it out. He runs to the stone door, ready to solve the puzzle. He touches the stone door, but to his and our surprise, the door simply pushes opens. It's not locked in the first place….

"Is he- is he an idiot?".

"No, no he's not".

The wide stone chamber beyond the stone door has a small stone pedestal in the middle of the room, Sunny looks around frantically as he sees this. looks like whatever he was searching for is supposed to be on that pedestal.

"Oh no, how unlucky". I say, sarcasm thick in my voice.

"Man, you're so negative".

"What? Me? Negative? Pssh!".

One thing leads to another, Sunny is now chasing some treasure hunters, looks like they stole an idol of some sort, maybe it's the thing Sunny was searching in that cave. Sunny is riding Depona as they try to chase a steam train. As Depona nears the train, Sunny jumps towards the speeding train. Nearly missing his grip. He continues to climb up, successfully infiltrating the train.

The scene continues with a fight scene, Sunny against the treasure hunters, battling it out on top of the train. It's a pretty impressive scene even by today's standards. Finally the final confrontation comes, Sunny against the treasure hunters' leader, General Bob Rowe, or Browe, as he calls himself. A man with a peculiar bushy moustache and a mean pair of eyebrows.

"What a terrible name". I mumble.

"Shh, just keep watching".

Browe currently holds Sunny on gunpoint on top of the train. Sunny is at his mercy now, since he just lost his gun and is now defenceless. As Browe explains his whole plan just like a good old fashioned villain would, Sunny crafts, and I quote, his magnificent plan.

Far ahead is a tunnel, so Sunny pretends to be interested in Browe's story to keep him occupied, and he falls for that, telling his 'master plan' fully to Sunny. Sunny couldn't hide his smile as the train comes closer and closer towards the tunnel. As Browe notices this, it's already too late. The train enters the tunnel and Browe.…

…Is completely fine. The tunnel is tall enough so that neither Browe nor Sunny were harmed.

"What". I blurt out.

Amanda says nothing as she tries to stifle a laughter.

Both Browe and Sunny completely fine. As the train exits the dark tunnel, they're both still frozen in place, completely and equally shocked by this.

"That was amazing". I chuckle, genuinely impressed by the show.

"I know". Amanda says, trying to hold her laughter still.

I continue watching the show, now curious of how it will end. The longer I watch it, the more I start to understand why Amanda loved the show as a kid. It may be rough around the edges and could be predictable at times but it has its charms. The same can be said about Sunny, despite his many un-heroic traits.

I came here wanting to talk about what happened yesterday. But seeing these girls having fun right now, how Jasminka laughs at all the jokes, how Constanze couldn't take her eyes off the gun slinging action, and how Amanda has a constant smile every time Sunny comes on screen, I'm beginning to grow more and more afraid that bringing the race up again will just ruin the moment.

The sound of small metallic footsteps echoes from the doorway, I turn and found Constanze's robot skidding to a halt near the door frame. "Danger danger!". The tiny robot shouts as loud as it could.

Amanda quickly stands up from her seat and whispers loudly. "Code red! Code red!"

Everything that happened after that felt like a blur, as if everyone moved in fast forward.

Constanze and Jasminka immediately turns off the projector and pushes it under the table to hide it alongside many of their snacks. They then spread out a long white tablecloth and cover the table with it. Its length reaches to the floor, providing good cover for anyone that hides under the table. Meanwhile Amanda quickly grabs the jigsaw puzzle and hides under the table, Constanze and Jasminka too follows suit, hiding in a different table.

They act so fast and so calculatedly as if they've already trained for this moment for years.

I could only look around, stunned by how fast everyone are. "guys what about the rob- ah!".

Amanda quickly and quietly grabs my hand and pulls me down to hide under the table. She puts her finger on her lips, telling me to stay quiet. I mimic her as a gesture of acknowledgement.

I catch a glimpse of Constanze's robot running up to it's owner's table. I see Constanze's arm reaching out from under the cover and quickly pulling the robot under the table.

I begin to hear footsteps approaching the room, and soon enough, the door to the cafeteria opens. I lower my head, trying to take a peek from below the tablecloth. The cold surface of the floor touching against the side of my head. I can see a pair of slender legs from down here. Judging from the slender legs, I can deduce that the owner of those legs, are indeed, a girl. Well that and the fact that this is an all girls school.

From down here I can't see anything but her legs as she begins to walk towards our direction. I'm starting to feel my heart beat faster as she comes closer and closer to our table.

I feel Amanda pulling on my sleeves, as I look to her, she's frantically pointing down to her jigsaw puzzle, then up towards the table.

Are you kidding me?

Amanda lifts the tablecloth slightly up and looks past me towards Jasminka and Constanze, who lifts theirs up too. Amanda continues to make a few hand signals, soon Jasminka and Constanze nods in acknowledgement.

Constanze picks up a piece of candy and hands it to Jasminka. Jasminka grabs hold of the candy and patiently waits for her opportunity. After a short minute of waiting, she throws the candy across the room, it creates a faint clacking noise as it lands.

The unwelcomed visitor looks away from our direction, she then continues to walk towards direction of the sound the candy made. As she turns her attention away, Amanda quickly reaches her hand out from under the table, reaching for the puzzle piece left on top of the table. She picks up the piece in a flash and brings it under the table, successfully securing it.

But in the process her hand slightly bumps the table, slightly moving it and making a faint but audible noise.

I can hear the unknown person turns to our direction as she hears that. Her quick steps synchronizing with my fast heartbeat as she walks towards our direction once again. Stopping very very near our table.

I look towards Amanda, she too is looking at me with an equally tense look. She continues to cover her mouth with her hand, I do the same, trying to calm myself down.

It's fine, we're fine.

The situation stays like this, too long for comfort. I feel my heartbeat growing ever faster with each passing second. Right now I can't see where the unknown person, but I'm sure she's very close and is standing still.

After what feels like an eternity, the unknown person finally resumes her walking as I hear her footsteps once again. But still it's really hard to tell whether she's walking away or walking around us, it's driving me mad. Hell, I bet you she's just standing in place, just stomping her feet.

Seconds after I hear the footsteps, but not long after it stops once again. This goes on over and over again. Is she gone? Or is she just standing still? I don't know! She's probably staring right at us a metre away across the bloody room. Hell she's probably on top of our bloody table for all I know.

I look towards Amanda, she too looks to me. Despite the situation, she's grinning. She even starts to giggle, I quickly shush her down in response.

Thankfully, I hear the door open once again, and after a few footsteps it closes once again. There's really no telling whether the unwelcomed visitor really left or she has faked her exit and is now messing with us. She could be tip toeing towards us at this exact moment for all I know. Nonetheless we're all royally screwed.

Even after minutes pass none of us makes a move. I find that if we're to find out whether she's gone or not, there's only one way. I breath deeply, it's do or die, it's likely going to be die though.

Taking the first move, I lift the tablecloth slightly and take a peak. No sign of any legs, good. Amanda lifts the tablecloth on her side and does the same, turning to me after and nods. I breath a long sigh of relief, that was ridiculously tense.

Amanda and I exit from my cover quietly. Relieved to find there's no sign of our unwelcomed visitor. Soon Jasminka and Constanze follows, her robot tucked safely on her tiny hands.

I say nothing for a moment, none of us says a thing, we're all still recovering from the recent horror experience. I find it impossible to believe anyone can stay-

A repressed laugh breaks the silence. I immediately look behind me, it's Amanda.

"why… why are you laughing?".

She keeps giggling as she struggles to hold her laugh still.

"That wasn't nice at all! Nothing funny about happened". I half-shout half-whisper to her, trying to hush her down.

She doesn't stop, to my complete horror, her giggles breaks into a full laughter, echoing throughout the empty room.

"Ah that was amazing!". Amanda wipes a tear from her eye and points at me. "you should have seen the look on your face!".

"What?!".

"Your face!". Amanda turns to Constanze and Jasminka. "You should have seen his face! his face was so funny!".

"O'Neill please stop laughing someone might listen!".

Amanda ignores my plea. Her smile grows even wider knowing full well it's just a ploy to distract her. "You're as pale as a ghost back then, you were scared weren't you?".

"N- no! I wasn't scared!". I start to feel my face going red with embarrassment.

My response and my obvious embarrassment just makes Amanda's grin grow wider and wider. "You're scared! You were scared!"

"Amanda be quiet! Who knows she's still out there?!".

"you were scared". Amanda cuts me off.

"no I- no I was not and am not scared!".

"you were scared".

"no I'm-I'm not! Okay?".

Amanda starts to laugh with no sign of stopping any time soon. I try to silence her with my hands but she easily blocks every attempt I make with little effort.

"Shut up, shut up!". I continue throwing my hands at her, my face now completely red.

"Aw you're red now!". Amanda laughs, casually blocking my attempts to silence her. She looks past me to her two friends. "Look he's so red!".

"Shut up Amanda!". I shout, growing even redder by the minute.

"You're so red, oh my god why are you so embarrassed dude?".

"It's not funny shut up!".

My attempt to shut her up delights her even more, making her laugh harder and harder.

My feeble attacks are finally stopped when Jasminka took hold of me by my arms, holding me in a lock. "There, there". She says like a mother to a child.

"Oh dear". Amanda finally stops her laughing fit and wipes a tear from her eye. "Okay that's enough, that's enough".

She giggles for a bit more before finally regaining her composure and offers her hand to me. "Truce?".

I just turn my head away, rejecting her offer.

"You're breaking my heart".

"Just- just shut up, Amanda".

The entire time we were having our little act, Constanze and her robot had been busy packing the movie projector. "Well I guess that's the end of the movie night". Amanda remarks. "Hey Constanze, let me help".

I notice Jasminka is still here with me, she's always the one who's first to help when it comes to these stuffs.

"What? What's the matter?". I turn to the pink haired girl. "Is there- is there really something on my face now?"

Jasminka smiles. "No, it's nothing".

She goes on to help her friends clean up after that, leaving me puzzled with that last words from her. Puzzled and slightly worried that there's actually something on my face.

/-/

"thanks for helping us carry our stuffs, and for letting me borrow this". Amanda says, jigsaw puzzle in hand and holding the door to her room open with her one free hand while Jasminka and Constanze walks under her arm and through the open door.

"whatever, just shut up". I grumble and turn my head away as I hand her the snack bags.

My grumbling only makes Amanda smile, though I can't make out whether it's a mischievous or a genuine one. The light from the room behind her casting a back light behind her and at the same time setting a stream of its light across the now dark dormitory corridors.

I wait here for a moment, still looking away, expecting more teasing words from Amanda. I'm surprised to find that she doesn't have any.

"Goodnight man". Amanda says. Just as I turn to her do I notice it was a normal smile after all, a warm one even.

"Night Jerry". Jasminka chimes in from inside the room, her head visible behind Amanda.

Constanze says her farewell in her own way, waving her hand towards me. Her robot mimicking her gesture, bidding it's own farewell to me.

"You guys too". I reply.

As the door is about to close, I catch a glimpse of Amanda flashing a teasing smile at me again through the narrow gap of the barely closed door. I throw my face away as I'm beginning to feel my face going red again.

With that last parting gift of embarrassment and a final mischievous chuckle, Amanda finally closes the door shut.

I sigh heavily.

That girl I swear to god.

I turn around and walk to the direction of my room, while occasionally glancing back at their room without really knowing why.

How can Amanda so easily make me feel embarrassed and flustered? How does she do it? It's like some sort of magic!

I try my best to shake off this unpleasant feeling, it only became worse the harder I try. It became even worse when I realize something just now.

You know that odd, sharp feeling on your chest when you realize or remember something you've been missing this whole time? That tangle that keeps on tangling on your chest that makes you think something's wrong with it even though you know full well it's all in your head.

I feel that right now, out of all the times I spent with her tonight.

My steps come to a halt and I turn to look back down the corridor that leads to Amanda's room.

Just now I realized the real reason I wanted to visit her tonight, but there were too many things running in my head when I was with her that I forgot about it.

It was my bracelet. I forgot to ask Amanda my bracelet back.

Pringles.


	15. Michelle And Her Silly Gossips

Its early morning on a weekend and I already have a visitor. It's the young Professor Ursula. She kept mostly to herself, telling me briefly that I'm needed in the headmistress's office for reasons even she didn't know herself.

Along the way, we didn't share any words except simple pleasantries proper between a student and a teacher. The ensuing silence makes my mind drift to other places, prominently what I'm going to do in my weekend.

Just when I'm thinking of it, we come across a window that overlooks the school field. Down there, a particular group of three troublemakers in green ribbons are relaxing under the shade of a tall tree.

I instinctively sigh looking at them, my face contorting to one of annoyance. The professor picks up on this, asking worriedly, "Something the matter?"

Naturally, I tell her nothing.

It's just one night ago that the green team decided to have their movie night, and it's just one night ago I was spectacularly humiliated by Amanda. The memories of how she made me so embarrassed back then with so little effort ruin my good mood. Thankfully, the professor wasn't looking at my direction when a blush forms on my cheeks, red like a tomato.

I'm really, really not looking forward to seeing her anytime near.

I follow Professor Ursula without another look to the three outside, hoping to get them out of my mind and refocus, but I couldn't, because at the back of my mind there's another thought, another feeling, that forces me not to forget what happened last night. It was one of regret—something I very rarely feel.

I got distracted last night wasn't I? I hung out with them in an attempt to confront them and find out how they really felt after the race, but I couldn't even get myself to bring the topic up.

It's just that they seem happy then, I don't want to ruin the good mood by bringing up the race and risk making things go south between us four.

But at the same time, I feel the obligation to tell the truth of what happened that day, of how I'm responsible for their disqualification.

I need to tell them, somehow, so I could know how they feel about it. Not knowing feels really terrifying.

But how could I hope to bring the race up again? They were happy that night weren't they? They were enjoying themselves, breaking rules and having fun, not a care about what happened days ago. Who am I to ruin their fun?

That's right, 'their' fun. As far as I'm concerned, I'm not friends with them for that long. Who knows that in their eyes I'm still an outsider, someone that doesn't genuinely belong in their little group.

And that brings me to a second point of my worry: I'm worried that the reason they don't bring up the race again is because they don't see me as a part of their group—that I'm not someone close enough to discuss touchy subjects like the race.

I breathe in deeply through my mouth, trying to calm myself and supress the more negative thoughts that keep brewing in my mind if left unchecked.

I briefly stop on my steps as I'm reminded of something. Finally I allow myself to look back outside a window, the three girls still there outside.

Yesterday was the first time I've seen them after the race and the three seemed happy. Amanda didn't convince me when she said she wasn't upset after her trophy and glory was abruptly taken, but last night, the moment she laughs made me sure that she's at least in a good enough mood to have fun, even if that fun stems from my misfortune.

I really hope Amanda's happiness that night was genuine.

And, if possible, I really hope she stops being a royal prick towards me.

Not long after, the professor and I arrive in front of the Headmistress's office. Professor Ursula continues to knock on the door, she doesn't need long to wait to receive her invitation to come inside.

"Ah, you're finally here Mr. Franklin". miss Holbrooke greets me once she sees me, she's sitting on her chair behind a wooden desk, behind her, the 9 silly hats of the Nine Olde Witches sits on display.

I notice Michelle's silence, she has her back on us, staring outside the window at the back of the room. Miss Holbrooke leaves her chair and walks towards the door.

"I think we're needed somewhere else professor Ursula". miss Holbrooke says as she walks past us. The young professor tilts her head for a moment before following the Headmistress outside, closing the door behind me.

It's now just me and Michelle, none of us yet to say a thing.

I gulp as the silent tension begins to sink in, myself unsure why I even feel nervous.

"Jericho". Michelle suddenly speaks, turning towards me.

"Y-yes?". I stutter. "I heard you were searching for me".

"I was", Michelle nods. "Just wanted to give you an update of the search Miss Holbrooke requested me to do down in the labyrinth"

Before I knew it, I gulp, "There isn't any problem, is it?"

A smile made its way to Michelle's lips, though it still doesn't ease me, makes me more unease, even.

"We found nothing! Not a trace of human intrusion physically nor magically. Maybe the one that triggered young Diana's alarm was one of the labyrinth's resident creatures after all. Regardless, during my search, I found some weaknesses on the labyrinth's entrances and have proposed a few suggestions to improve them alongside other security aspects of the school in general. The headmistress thankfully approved most of them".

Michelle's smile only widens as she goes on, but she soon notices my contrasting blank expression. She renews her smile into a smug one as she explains, "That means I get more in my pay check, Jerry",

My blank look turns to a deadpan stare. "So that's… it? You called me here just to tell me that?"

Michelle blinks. "W-well, aside from that, you're here because I feel like I should thank you. My pay check wouldn't have been increased if it wasn't for you and your overly paranoid suggestions about some treasure hunters".

"Yes, my suggestions, mine…" I say, eyes trailing off. It's sort of bizarre for me to keep forgetting which treasure hunters are which; I keep getting mixed up between the treasure hunters I presumed to exist, lurking around our vulnerable labyrinth, or the one that actually exists and pulled off a heist on a millionaire's mansion.

Michelle speaks again, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Anyway, I'm glad I'm here and able to help the school. And my superiors at the ministry grows to enjoy the idea of me teaching and at the same time keeping watch of Luna Nova. We can safely say I'll get comfortable here for awhile".

"It almost sounds like they've always wanted to have an inside eye on the school", I muse out loud.

Michelle responds to my outspoken thoughts with a laugh. "That's one way to say it. All in all, I think there won't be any troubles with the school's security for now. So don't worry too much about this okay?"

Hearing that from her means a lot—I've been in constant need for affirmations on the safety of this school ever since the responsibility of keeping the White Stone safe falls to my hands.

While Michelle goes on to her more personal rants about her personal life, my mind is already elsewhere.

It's been on my mind for a while: to not listen to Mr Wright and tell Michelle about the stone. I've never come to a conclusion every time I think of it, and now it's no different.

Michelle caught notice of my drifting eyes. She stops her ramblings and asks in a tone close to serious, "Something wrong?"

"N-nothing".

Michelle watches me with an unreadable expression for a moment. I try hard not to falter under her unrelenting gaze.

Surprisingly, she didn't see through my lie, or just didn't bother to. She shrugs and continues, "Aaaanyway, as I was saying, so my partner was out trying to find…"

I shouldn't do or say anything rash. I'm not wise enough to make my own decisions in this matter—a matter I sorely lack knowledge of while Mr Wright has more knowledge of. Perhaps the best course of action for me now is to trust Mr Wright and his decision as equally as he trusts in me to keep such a valuable artefact. Hopefully, I put my trust on the right person, and Mr Wright as well.

Michelle suddenly claps her hands twice, surprising me entirely. It also seems that she didn't realize I've been ignoring her ramblings for the past minutes. "I just remembered, I've a bonus news for you! There's news, well, rumours among the Guardians. Ready to hear it?"

I furrow my brows. "Michelle you know I don't like gossips".

Ignoring my words, Michelle continues. "There's a Guardian, a high ranking one, that's on trial as we speak. It appears that he's accused of withholding some crucial information from the Guardians".

"Its treason then?"

"I suppose you can call it that. Anyway, he appears to be hiding an information of a new type of magic, or so they say…"

Ah, the famous 'or so they say', it marks that the next following words that comes out of Michelle's mouth should be taken with a grain of salt.

"… So this Guardian is apparently a theurgist of some sort, a master of the spirit, able to manipulate his own and others, you know the drill. But apparently he's also able to move his spirit through his past and future consciousness! How cool is that?"

My silence signals that Michelle had completely lost me. Clearing her throat, Michelle tries again, stumbling—a rare sight of her. "H-he can move his soul through time".

I narrow my eyes. "Is there any relevant information for me to learn from this… fact of yours?"

Michelle nods. "Y-yeah, you know how the ministry is, they're seriously unable to take a joke so they treat this whole rumour face-value and actually investigated that Guardian".

I give Michelle a flat look and reply dryly, "Well, I'm sure the Ministry's will be pleased with what they'll find. But I still believe that whatever what they'll find won't have any connection to that dreadfully fake rumour".

Michelle shrugs, apparently enjoying the outlandish rumour. "Whatever you say".


	16. Nighttime Blytonbury With Sucy

_**Somewhere in the middle of nowhere…**_

Why would anyone use this weird contraption in the past?

I keep trying to rotate the rotary dial of the telephone, it clicks each time it passes through a number, but me being the millennial that I am, I keep fumbling and making mistakes as I try to use this archaic device.

"god dammit! Missed a number!".

Failing for the fourth time in a row, I retry once again, entering the numbers I've been trying to reach for minutes. However, the telephone, having aged considerably and perhaps terribly maintained judging from it's rusted and peeled colours, and from it's terribly flimsy mechanical parts and loose gears, easily slides off of my intended number.

"god dammit wrong again!".

Come on Jericho, don't let an inanimate object best you! Remember you're inside a telephone booth, and they're for public use. What kind of self-respecting Wizard has no respect for their environment?

Breathing deeply, I try to collect myself like the gentleman that I am. Once I'm sure I won't throw a fit of rage if I fail once again, I retry, carefully this time.

"zero… zero… eight….".

Pausing before entering the last numbers, I attempt to rotate the dial much more slowly this time, knowing it's gears are loose according to my failed attempts. Sliding the dial carefully, I hear the beautiful click of the gears as they land on my intended numbers.

"seven two, yes!".

Now comes the boring and excruciating part, waiting. Tapping my foot, I wait patiently for the familiar sound of the dial tone to appear, hoping my tiring effort will finally pay off.

And right there, a click on the other side of the phone later, I know my call has been picked up. Unable to contain my excitement and relief, I'm basically shouting to the telephone. "Hello hello?! Rahjaesh! My man! I'm so glad you picked up! I need your help buddy I need to go to the town, can you pick me up?".

Finishing my request, I wait for his answer. I tap my foot once again, this time out of excitement rather than suspense. Thankfully, a voice soon comes, answering my request. "The number you've been trying to reach is unavailable, please try again in—".

"Son of a gun!".

I quickly try to redial, fearing that that failed call won't give me a refund and making me out of coins. But my fears are confirmed, the machine swallowed it. I came here with one coin for one call only, and I'm all out of coins!

Slamming the handle back to it's place, my rage got the better of me and I kick the phone booth's door wide open. Stomping outside the phone booth, I feel the cold night breeze isn't enough to cool my heated head. Outside, I'm reminded of how far away I am from both the town and the school. A long dirt road leads to the town, and from the other side, I remember arriving here from that direction. A lone lamppost lights beside the telephone booth, providing the only light in the vicinity, though it's light doesn't penetrate the thick forest behind the telephone booth, keeping it in the dark. In short, I'm close to nowhere.

Why am I out in the middle of nowhere? Well that's because a day ago Akko came to me and invited me to hang out with her and her team at the town out of the blue, literally, at that time the girl got covered in blue goo from a failed alchemy class project. It was quite the plan, with many places already set in mind by the excited girl. But my silly brain decided to forget about our promise, and I'm now late to the established meeting hour.

Unable to use a broom, my only choice of transportation is of course Rahjaesh. So I tried to call him, but found that my wand was unable to charge any magic. Seeking answers, I return to the school to find out why I can't seem to use magic, turns out the school was running maintenance on the tower holding the Sorcerer's Stone. Apparently someone broke something important which causes some disturbance in the flow of Ley Line magic onto the stone, so the goblins had to seal off it's magic temporarily for the rest of the evening while they fix whatever's broken. So there I was, with no magic at my disposal, no way to contact my driver, and amazed at how remarkable my luck had been today.

There's only one communication technology that doesn't use magic within kilometres of this school, which is this old rotary telephone booth I've just exited. So I had no other choice but to walk my way to this god forsaken, or rather, government forsaken public facility.

"oh you've done it, Jericho! Now you won't make it to town in time! It's done! They're gone now! They up and left you behind, they're mad at you now for ditching them!".

On this lonely dirt road, I stomp around alone, with nothing else audible save for my own rants.

Stomping around the dirt road, I keep cursing at my ability to easily forget things, I do this for a full minute that my rants grew unintelligible at some point.

"great! This is- this is fantastic! I'm done! My friends are probably angry at me right now! And there's nothing I could do about it!".

More unintelligible words later, I pause for a bit, not because I stopped feeling angry, but rather to try and regain my stamina to continue my ranting.

Trying to catch my breath and conclude my rant. I look to the dark starry sky and let loose a cry of despair and rage.

"aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!".

My scream echoes through the night, sending birds flying in the forest behind me.

With all the rage in my systems thrown into the breeze, I rest my hands on my knees, struggling to catch my breath. Though I've said all those words, I somehow felt more positive after saying those.

Huh, that felt good actually.

Lifting my head up, I spot Blytonbury far on the horizon. Pass a rolling set of hills, the warm town sits peacefully, it's welcoming lights shines through the night, though it's far away, just looking at it feels like it gives one a guiding light for a traveller, like a beacon for the weary soul to follow. Oh how nice it is to be there, instead of this cold, desolate place.

"a taxi, a taxi, my kingdom for a taxi!". I cry.

A ring pulls me out of my play, a ring that can only come from one thing and one thing only. With hope in my heart, I quickly turn myself around towards the phone booth.

Like the voice of a thousand singing angels, the phone seems to be ringing, and I have no idea who it is, but my heart screams it has to be Rahjaesh.

Not wasting another second, I scurry back inside the phone booth, quickly picking it's handle, clear my throat and try to calm myself before answering it.

"hello?". I call out, trying to hide my excitement.

"hello…. mister?" a familiar voice calls back.

Taking the phone from my ears, I clutch it tightly to my heart, saying thanks to whoever sent this gnome to me. Once I'm done thanking whoever to thank, I calm myself and put the phone back to my ear.

"Hello you beautiful gnome ".

"um.. sir? Let's keep it professional".

"No no don't worry, I'm just glad to hear you! Now can you pick me up? I need to be somewhere else!".

"of course mister!".

With that, the gnome ends the call.

Relieved beyond measure, I breath a sigh of relief and lean on the glass windows of the telephone booth. But before I can put the telephone back to it's handle, a familiar sound of screeching tire howls outside.

With a smile on my face, I put the telephone back and open the door to welcome the gnome.

"Rahjaesh, oh am I glad to see you!".

I can hear a muffled response from inside the taxi, t\\\it's terribly covered by the window, though I can still pick up the word 'mister' in the end.

Soon the driver seat's window rolls down, revealing Rahjaesh and his pointy hat.

"hellooo mister". Rahjaesh greets me, repeating his previously muffled one.

Without wasting another moment, I round the taxi and open the passenger side door, quickly entering the taxi and closing it's door.

"Blytonbury go!".

"very good mister!".

With his _go_ given, Rahjaesh pushes his foot down to the long wooden block strapped beneath his feet, acting as an extension to his rather tiny feet, the wooden blocks pushes the pedals. With quick hand movements Rahjaesh shifts the gears, a push on the gas pedal later, the engine revs, and the taxi launches forward, leaving a cloud of dust in its trail.

I look back to the telephone booth through the rear window, feeling unimaginable relief to leave that place. Like a US soldier rescued by a helicopter from a Vietnam invested forest, while blazing Fortunate Son through the chopper's speakers.

Immortalizing this moment inside my deepest memory, I look away from the telephone booth, hoping this is the last time I'll ever see it.

See you telephone booth.

Resting myself on the comfy seat, I notice Rahjaesh taking some glances towards me.

"so mister one thing you should know, we can't access the Ley Line from here since I heard your Sorcerer's Stone is in maintenance!".

"yes I'm aware Rahjaesh, but it's all right, this is much better than walking".

The gnome briefly takes his eyes off the road to look to me.

"so mister, if you're in a hurry, we can take a short cut".

"short cut? What kind of short cut?". I ask curiously.

"the one that takes you to the town quicker of course mister!".

—

Rolling in front of the magic items cafe, the taxi skids to a halt. However, I don't exit immediately. My body is planted on the leather seat, my mind still trying to grasp my surroundings. I can't move as shock fills my every being. I still can't believe the taxi is still in one piece after going full speed through the thick woods—or as Rahjaesh called them, shortcuts—and that I'm still alive.

I climb out the taxi with shaky legs, my shuddering hands clutching on the taxi door, as if letting go would make me fall to the depth of the earth. Rahjaesh notices my struggle. He asks, warily, "All good, mister?"

I don't immediately answer. The simple act of turning around takes time in my state. Finally facing Rahjaesh, I give him a confident thumbs up, comically contrasting my body that's practically swaying in the wind.

Finally out of the taxi proper, I shudder a bit before taking a deep breath, allowing them to enter my system and calm me. However, just as one terror exits my system, another comes knocking.

My body shudders again, this time for a different reason: I can't even imagine how Akko will react to me forgetting our plans and being late. I've never faced a disgruntled girl my age before, let alone someone always cheery like Akko—the cheery ones are always the scariest when angry.

"are you all right mister?", Rahjaesh asks again, worried for me as always. Turning around, I spot Rahjaesh peeking from inside the taxi.

"peachy Rahjeash". I manage to word out. "just… peachy".

The gnome pauses for a moment, clearly picking up on my nervousness. He continues to lean back and reach behind his seat, trying to grab something from the back seat.

Seconds of rummaging later, Rahjaesh seems to have something triangular on his hands. Turning back and leaning outside the window, the gnome extends his hand and offers me an item.

"here mister, helps with anxieties".

I study the peculiar object on his hands, a triangular, no, a cone-like pointy red hat. A gnome hat, a red gnome hat. It's identical to what Rahjaesh is wearing, but it's noticeably larger.

"for… me?".

The gnome nods enthusiastically.

Hesitantly taking it, I look the hat over.

It's just that, a pointy red hat, adjusted to fit a human head.

"thanks? I guess?".

Rahjaesh beams, a look of satisfaction and accomplishment on his face.

Returning my attention to the shop, I begin walking towards it. My steps are slow and deliberate, each feels heavy as if my instincts screams at me to stay away from what's inside. The shop's overall decoration doesn't help, it actually worsens my nervousness. Various odd things that I can't even imagine to name are laid behind the glass display at the front of the shop, things like creepy sculptures, odd skeletons, bone crafts, jarred lizards and spiders and pickled cucumbers are proudly displayed at the front of the shop. While other knick-knacks of witch-wizard pop cultures are also displayed, things like posters of popular witch films and TV shows and other merchandises aimed for their demographic.

Though I practice magic and is technically a wizard, I'm not that familiar with their culture, so I often miss things that the general witch or wizard would know. I myself still see myself as a normal person, culture and norm-wise.

There's one poster that catches my attention, it's a picture of four… reanimated corpses, crossing the street. I recognize it as a parody to Abbey Road, though recognizably, this one lacks the zebra cross.

Looks like a show so bad it's good.

Above it, the words 'The Jaywalking Dead' is written.

Yep, definitely a bad-good show.

The owner of this place must love zombies, since there's some fake zombie limbs and whatnots placed somewhere inside the glass display. I was about to study those fake zombie limbs further if it wasn't for Rahjaesh reminding me of my goal.

"stop stalling mister! Just get inside!".

Taking a glance at Rahjaesh, I nod nervously to him. His words are true, I am stalling.

"r-right". I gulp. "here goes nothing".

Putting the pointy hat on my head, I look to Rahjaesh for encouragement. I put a thumbs up for Rahjaesh, and the gnome returns it with his own thumbs up.

Whether it's the pointy hat or the encouragement from Rahjaesh, I feel somewhat braver now.

With a deep breath, I proceed to take a step forward, towards the menacing front door of the shop.

But something stops my tracks, something that catches my attention.

On the door, a warning is written. A warning painted crudely with black paint.

"don't dead, open inside". I read it aloud.

Confused, I look back to Rahjaesh. The confusion overwhelms my nervousness and bravery.

"what the hell does that mean Rahjaesh?".

"I don't know mister!".

Returning my attention to the warning, I dismiss it as nothing but a famous line from a popular show, perhaps from one of those displayed here. Nothing to get worked up on.

Gathering my courage once again, I reach for the door. A bell rings as I swing the door open, signalling my arrival.

The first thing I notice inside is how gloomy it is. Like a true magical items shop, the overall design of the interior looks like something you'd see in a horror film, with dim lightings, dominantly dark coloured furnitures, and lots of odd and disturbing accessories placed around the room. Whether the creepy design is deliberate or not, I'll never know.

"welcome". The shopkeeper, the same one as last I was here, greets me, setting down his newspaper. "what can I help you with?".

Before I answer that question, I scan the room first. Unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, there's no sign of the trio I'm looking for.

"have you… were there any witch customers that came here before me?". I ask.

"lots of customers comes and goes, witches and normal folks, you gotta be a lot more specific".

Thinking for a bit, I try to be as descriptive and as clear as I can when describing my three friends.

"three witches, Luna Nova students, but I'm guessing they weren't wearing any uniforms since it's not a school day. About the same heights, one of them wears glasses, big, glasses".

I move my hands, making a shape of round glasses with my fingers.

"this big. And she has ginger hair, and freckles, don't forget the freckles that's the most important part. Then there's one Japanese girl, I think? Brown hair, extremely loud and incredibly close at times, also a ponytail she has. And last one, she looks like a dead person, actually she acts more like a dead person than she looks like one, but don't tell her I said that!".

"you can tell her that yourself".

I nearly jump when I hear the familiar monotone voice behind me, turning around, I find Sucy right in front of me.

"S-Sucy!". I yelp.

Though her overall expression and tone stays the same, the slight frown of her eyebrows is enough to sent a chill up my spine.

I expect her to say something along the lines of 'you're dead' or 'you're already dead'. but to my unfortunate surprise, she stays silent. Instead, she reaches for her belt.

I feel my soul slipping away as I notice her wand strapped on the belt she's reaching.

"S-Sucy Sucy Sucy! We're- we're fr- friends right? You- you're not going to do anything funny to me r-right?".

Ignoring my pleas, she grabs her wand and frees it from her belt.

"Ssss- Sucy!".

Fumbling over my words, I fail to form words to persuade her to stop. I can't imagine what sort of horrific spells she'll punish me with. I don't know if she's brave enough to hurt another student but I'm not keen on finding out.

As death draws near, I try and negotiate one last time. Bowing to her like a Japanese person would and gathering my nerves to form intelligible words.

"p-please y- you can have anything! My money, my wallet, my house, my goldfish, my body-".

I feel I can no longer come up with any more words as I hear Sucy stepping forward, wand drawn and ready. Closing my eyes and still bowing, I can only wish her punishment won't be severe. I wait and wait, for death's embrace to come. What is seconds feels like an eternity of waiting.

Eventually I open an eye, I find Sucy not in front of me any more. Still bowing, I search the room for her.

"how long does it take?". Sucy asks, handing her wand to the shopkeeper.

"about fifteen minutes… ish, that's pretty quick if you ask me".

Sucy continues to hand the chubby man her wand. Once he acquires it, the man quickly runs to the back of the shop, entering a an off-limit room and closing the door behind him.

I stay still, still in bowing position, completely dumbfounded.

"eh?".

Realizing I'm still in my previous position, Sucy turns towards me.

"keep doing that and maybe you'll get more blood in your head".

"eh?!".

I feel the gnome cap I'm wearing slide off and fall to the floor, along with the rest of my dignity.

"eh?!".

"is that the only word you can say?". Sucy asks, her usually monotone voice has a hint of annoyance now.

Quickly straightening my back, I try to regain my composure, sense, and overall dignity before collecting what just happened.

"S-Sucy?!".

"what". she asks, her tone very much annoyed.

"y-you're not going to kill me?". I stammer, still not believing what she didn't do.

"only because my wand's broken".

"b-but you're good with poisons….". I mumble.

Just as I finish my sentence, I see Sucy's eyes widen a bit as an idea strikes her. She reaches for her satchel, opening it I can spot a few bottles of her potions and poisons.

"okay okay I'll shut my mouth!".

Whether she feels guilty, or just too bothered to kill me. Sucy retracts her hand away from her satchel.

Relieved beyond believe, I take a deep breath, savouring it as if it's my last. Being alive has never felt so good. At least now Sucy's aware I'm here, just need to wait for her two friends to come.

Seemingly indifferent to the emotional roller coaster that just happened, Sucy begins to walk around the room, glancing at the various items in display inside. Looks like she's trying to kill time instead of me.

With just the two of us, two regularly passive people in conversations, silence is quick to grow. Being a good sociable human I am, I try and make small talk with my friend.

"so Sucy, what brings you here?". I ask politely.

"you just heard why I'm here", she answers disinterestedly.

This is going to be antagonizing, I guess she's still mad at what I said earlier. Though it's hard to tell since normally Sucy isn't talkative, so I'm not sure if this is just her normal self or she's mad beyond belief at me.

Well I doubt even her closest friends will know either. Thinking about it, this is the first time I'm actually alone with Sucy, and we've never really had a proper conversation before.

Since there's not much to talk about when I'm with Sucy, I decide to follow her around instead.

Just like a clueless kid following her mother in a furniture store, I cling to Sucy as she wanders around the shop, looking for anything interesting interesting alongside her.

Even as I do this, she doesn't speak a word, and neither do I. she's just looking from one item to the other, and I'm just following her from one point to another.

It's only after 5 minutes of silence that Sucy decides to speak up.

"what do you want?".

"what? I'm just following you around".

And just like that, she says nothing else and neither do I.

We continue this for a good 10 minutes, when she stops and stares at something she finds interesting, I do the same. But when I stop to stare at something I find interesting, she leaves me, as she does, I obediently stop staring and continue to follow her.

I have no idea why I do that.

At some point of our window shopping, Sucy suddenly stops and looks at a seemingly empty wall.

Thinking there's something interesting there, I stop and follow her gaze.

It's a wall.

Just that.

A wall.

Shifting my gaze between Sucy and the empty wall numerous time, my confusion pushes me to ask.

But before I have the chance to ask, Sucy points a finger towards the empty wall. "There used to be a caged broom in there".

"Caged broom? Why would a broom need a cage?", I remark. Not knowing the answer herself, Sucy lightly shrugs.

Regardless of what I said, I think I do remember there being a broom there. But I can't put my finger on when I last saw it and with who…

"I just heard it's a special broom, no one could control it properly", I hear Sucy remark.

"Sounds more like a burden to me", I say.

I expect Sucy to continue her browsing, but unexpectedly, she keeps her gaze at where the caged broom used to lie, seemingly lost in thought. I'd ask her what's wrong, but I expect she'll just wave the question away.

Moments go by, and I'm beginning to wonder why would the missing broom interest her so much. This whole time she's only stopped to look at something creepy, like shrunken heads and jarred lizards and whatnots. But now she seems occupied with what she claimed to be a missing caged broom of all things.

Without taking her eyes off of the empty space, she unexpectedly calls to me.

"Jericho".

"hm? What is it?".

I wait for whatever she needs to say, but after a few seconds pass I'm starting to think that's all she has to say. Turning to Sucy, I find her still occupied with the empty space with no sign of speaking up further. Whether she changed her mind, or just messing with me, I'll never know.

The sound of a door being unlocked emerges from the back of the shop, catching both our attentions. Upon looking towards it we find that the shopkeeper has returned, a familiar wand on his hands.

The chubby man returns behind the counter, as he does, Sucy walks to the front, with me following not far behind her.

"so, apparently you got your wand cracked on the inside. But nothing a good ol' duct tape won't fix".

The chubby man chuckles at his own statement, but he and I soon find that Sucy was not impressed by it at all.

Clearing his throat, the shopkeeper attempts to reiterate his words

"I completely removed and replaced the cracked parts… no duct tapes were involved".

Seeing that humour doesn't work on this one, he decides to just hand Sucy her fixed wand. The witch takes it and begins to inspect it, carefully examining every inch of her wand.

"one big crack you got there, any interesting stories?". the shopkeeper asks.

"someone broke it". Sucy answers, attention undivided to her wand.

With that short answer, the chubby shopkeeper seems to give up in having small talk with the witch. Clearing his throat, he begins to run through a long piece of paper. Putting on a pair of glasses, he begins to carefully read what's written.

"so, the cracked part was pretty big, I had to replace the whole thing".

Sucy takes her attention away from her wand and looks to the shopkeeper.

"you're going to keep the broken part won't you?". she asks.

"if you wish so". the shopkeeper answers. "I'll cut the price if you do".

"how much is it worth?".

The shopkeeper pauses and thinks for awhile, placing a finger to his chubby chin.

"hmm… I don't know". he mumbles.

After a bit more of thinking, the shopkeeper snaps his fingers as he seems to have an idea.

"you know what? I'm not good with wand prices, let me get my friend who's an expert in wands".

He continues to reach for an old rotary telephone and quickly dials through, he seems to have no difficulties whatsoever with the device. Just looking at that sends an uncomfortable shudder up my spine.

After a ring or two his call seems to be answered, and soon the front door rings and enters a stranger.

Without wasting any minute, the stranger enters the counter, an elderly man with greyed beard and a peculiar Texan hat. The chubby one reaches below the counter and procures the broken part of Sucy's wand, showing it to his friend

"what do you think?". he asks his friend.

The bearded man examines the item for a few minutes, inspecting every part of it closely and carefully.

"quite valuable, yes. This here is standard Luna Nova, metal, tempered…".

He taps his finger on the table, deeply considering it's values.

"relatively new, good quality even after cracked, I'm sure there's people out there who can fix this".

After a few moments of consideration, the bearded man places the broken part on the table.

"it's good, yes, it is common made, but acquiring one is quite rare since it's only handed strictly for Luna Nova students. Nonetheless, it is still a rare and sought after material. I think Luna Nova wand parts easily lands around… 20, 30 pounds".

Hearing this, a light, victorious smile forms on Sucy's lips.

Seeing he has finished his verdict, the shopkeeper nods affirmatively at his friend. The shopkeeper continues to take the broken piece, checking it for himself.

"so how much". Sucy asks.

The shopkeeper looks up and places the broken piece back on the table.

"best I can do is 5 Pounds". he concludes.

"wh-what?". I, instead of Sucy, blurts out.

"well, it is valuable, but you've done a great job breaking it kid, fixing it would take a great deal of time, and a bit of fortune". the bearded man explains.

"you don't expect wands can be fixed cheaply no? 5 pounds is quite generous for a broken piece like this". the shopkeeper adds.

"th-that's a mighty drop". I sigh.

Sucy grunts audibly at the news, unsettling me, the shopkeeper, and the bearded man. She clearly seems disgruntled by the price. I expect her to ask for a higher price or something, but to my complete surprise she chooses to just ignore it. Reaching into her pocket, Sucy proceeds to pay the shopkeeper with no further questions asked.

Without saying anything else, Sucy turns around and proceeds to walk out of the shop, not bothering to even wait for me.

I quickly follow her. But before I do I make sure to pick up my gnome cap that I dropped on the floor.

"th-thanks for fixing it". I tell the two. "h-happy shopkeeping… or whatever!".

Exiting the shop, I search right and left for Sucy, finding her already a few buildings away from the magic item's cafe.

Catching up to her, I make sure to wear my gnome cap properly so it wont fall off again.

"thanks for waiting for me". I thank Sucy as I finally walk side by side with her.

"you're welcome". she answers.

She answered with her usual monotone voice again, just seconds ago she seems like she's not satisfied at all with the deal, but just in such a short moment she manages to return to her usual self.

Guessing that talking about the deal wouldn't be the best idea, I try to find something to talk to her about.

"so…. what did happen to your wand?".

"you heard the answer". she answers dismissively.

"yeah but it's Akko, yes?".

Sucy simply nods in reply.

That's not a first. Remembering the events during that one alchemy class we had, I was sure Akko is some kind of trouble magnet. The mention of her name however, reminds me of the most pressing matter at this moment.

"so… are we heading to your friends now?". I ask, trying to hide my growing nervousness.

"friends? Who are you talking about".

"hahah, Sucy you're so funny".

I chuckle openly, though it's more as an effect to light things up rather than me actually finding her statement funny. Disturbingly, she doesn't seem to return the humour, she just stares off to where she's walking, no sign of her joking in her statement.

But there's more pressing issue at hand, I've yet to meet Akko and I fear that me being late would make her upset.

"so where are they? Akko and Lotte I mean".

"back at the school".

"the school? But I thought we were going to-".

"Akko broke something important, so she got some cleaning up to do. Lotte decided to help her. Needless to say, our plan's out the window".

Talk about luck. On one hand I'm worried of what sort of punishment Akko's in for, and on the other I'm glad that I'm not late for anything at all. I feel an unusual form of guilty relief.

It all works out in the end, kinda.

Continuing our walk, I just realize that I've been following her blindly this whole time. We've walked for some time now and I have no idea where she's heading.

"so where are you going?".

"the shopkeeper doesn't allow wands to be used inside his shop".

I wait for her to finish her answer, but now noticing her silence, I realize that _is_ her answer.

"meaning…".

"the park".

"t-that's pretty far away, why not just use it here".

"you're free to go away".

"and waste my taxi money? No ma'am".

Actually I'm also following her so that if she chooses to go home I can just hitch a ride. I don't want to waste money if I can get a free ride.

"why the park anyway?".

Without taking her eyes from her destination, Sucy continues to answer my question. I'd guess that she's annoyed by it, but it's really hard to tell with her overall monotone voice. "there's some rare night time mushrooms at the park".

"edible mushrooms?". I ask, though that's a very optimist guess.

"no", she says, back still turned towards me. Sighing to myself, I follow her, only because she's my ticket for a free ride back.

 **Author's Notes: nothing fancy here, just clearing up that when Sucy calls him by his name, it was not a typo, he's just that oblivious.**

 **New New Author's Notes: well, isn't this nice, after you waited for an eternity for the 21st chapter, this one came much quicker. College won't be back until 5th of February, so that's that, I'm all yours. Now the chapter, ho how much references in it amirite (it's just three but bear with me), Shakespear, The Walking Dead, The Beatles' Abby Road, Pawn Stars** **.**


	17. Movie Night And The Sequel It Entails

We fly with the moonlight guiding our way, the street lamps has long disappeared as we go further and further away from Blytonbury, betraying us of any dependable light. The wind suddenly picks up, forcing me to cover my eyes as the fallen leaves from the forest below flies past us.

"it's quite dark". I begin, patting off a leave that has attached to my clothes. "I think you should light a little lighting spell".

Uninterestedly, Sucy asks my reason to say so.

"why?".

"well, it just feels safer that way".

She seems indifferent to my worries, dismissing my request immediately.

"we're flying, what are we going to hit?".

"well, even airplanes have those little blinking lights around them". I point out.

"we're not airplanes", Sucy retorts. I figured she won't be swayed by any persuasion.

I pull the collar of my shirt up as the cold night wind becomes unbearable. My fingers go unsteady against the cold, and I feel my body shivering. In contrast, Sucy shows no sign of being bothered by the cold.

Thankfully, I won't have to survive the cold any longer as a familiar building appears in the distance.

The tall rooftops of Luna Nova was the first to appear on the horizon, though even from the distance I can see that the usual lights that shines from the many windows of the building are all turned off, almost leaving Luna Nova in complete darkness if it wasn't for the emergency lights scattered across the building.

Remembering what I was informed earlier, I suppose this is due to the Sorcerer's Stone maintenance. I was wrong to guess that they would've finished repairing the damages by the time return.

I notice flood lights spreading out across the school yards, most of which gathers around the base of the tower that holds the Sorcerer's Stone. Occasional figures, which I figure are workers, comes across the floodlights from time to time, casting shadows over the white illuminated walls of the building.

"well this isn't something you see every day", I remark.

Indeed, when I returned from the tower this place wasn't as busy as it is now. Goblins, Sprites, Minotaur and many kinds of other workers stride across the field, busily heading to their own different destinations while carrying tools and materials needed for the fixing. Each of them seems to know where they're going and what they're doing, none pausing in hesitation. Just standing in the middle of all this is enough to give me a sense of how hectic their work is, but despite all this, the workers carry on their duties diligently and with admirable coordination.

In the middle of the field, the workers has set up a temporary work station. A large tent, enough to house a thousand gnomes, or if converted, about a hundred humans, has been erected in the middle of the field. Workers comes and goes from inside, bringing in what seems to be empty containers while walking out with containers filled to the brim with various construction materials and tools.

Shifting my gaze up, I notice how dark the top of the tower is. The usual green glow radiated by the Sorcerer's Stone is absent, as expected.

—

We enter the building. The busy and lively atmosphere quickly drowned as I close the door behind us, sealing off the sounds of the outside workers. We continue through the now quiet corridors of the school, sparsely lit by a few candles.

Our goodbyes are underwhelming and one-sided—something I expected would happen with Sucy. The way she made the most underwhelming goodbye was disappointing for me, but I ask myself why I even bothered.

Of course I didn't expect much, it's Sucy after all. But that doesn't make me feel a bit ignored, after what spending time with her tonight I admittedly expected something more, at least a simple goodbye would've sufficed.

I don't have time to be disappointed. I have an agenda I've been meaning to fulfil lately, and in this special night—with the powers out and there's much less people around—it's a perfect time to do just that.

Alone in the lightless corridor, I slip away into my room.

I dislike the idea of keeping the stone, something so unknown and ominous.

I'm scared of this stone. It's as simple as that. To this day I ask myself what sort of spell Mr Wright casted on me that made me agree to his request of keeping the stone.

This stone is unknown to me other than that it's fearsome, used long ago as a weapon for blood magic before it passes on to obscurity. But perhaps, this is the reason for my fears: I've little knowledge of the stone.

Fear of the unknown is very strong after all, and recently I figured if I could understand the stone more, that'll help lessen my fear, perhaps even turn it fully around.

Resting atop my desk is a collection of books I've borrowed from the local library. They're either specifically about blood magic or have a few passages and chapters about them. One of them, of course, is the one I showed Diana not too long ago.

Ever since I started my inquisitive quest on Diana I've never stopped. Reading through these books are hard, but they're not as hard as finding them. Books that talk about black magic are quite scarce in this school. I have a good guess why.

The collection of books I found is few but they're invaluable. The most unique of them all is a book I found in the white magic section of the library—hardly a place I'd expect to have such a dark and menacing art such as blood magic. It's a white covered book, thick, titled 'White Blood Magic'.

I've done more reading lately. I managed to found a curious passage regarding blood catalyst. It was brief, but it has one interesting fact: blood catalysts could absorb life essences; any person's blood that is consumed by a blood catalyst, be it the wielder or an unlucky victim's, could leave an 'imprint' on the item. The greater amount of blood used, the stronger the imprint.

After making sure the door is locked and all windows shut, I prepare a candle and begin reading. I start with the only book I haven't touched so far, the white covered one.

Now this book, it gives off a better first impression, more welcoming, than its siblings. The words 'White Blood Magic' are written in gold over the white, paperback cover. The aged papers brush against my fingertips, I note how dry and rough it's surface is. It's colour is an old faded yellow, kinds to expect in every aged books. The familiar smell of aged paper immediately hits me as I flip through the pages.

It's upon this book I found the most interesting insight about the ominous blood magic.

'Blood magic, one of the oldest forms of magic. However terrifying it is, it has remarkable properties. It's destructive capabilities are unquestionable, as you may have known, but what people often forget is it's remarkable healing potential. The act of healing ailments and diseases by blood are known by many names and carried out with diverse methods throughout the ages; blood healing, white blood magic, Luwythian medicine, and it's most well known method and name: blood ministration. Blood ministration is the process of curing disease and ailments through blood transfusion and blood letting. Blood transfusion is generally the process of receiving blood or blood products, created and tempered with blood magic, into one's circulation intravenously. Blood products ranges from blood gems to composite blood residues, their kinds are so many and diverse that explaining it would require a second book fully dedicated to it to do it justice. What's important to know about blood products however, are it's usage and origin. Created from the twisting of the very essence of life, blood products are products of blood manipulated by magic, be it dark or light magic'.

'Unfortunately, the practice of blood ministration and blood healing in general has greatly diminished through the ages, particularly during the witch hunt. During that time, all kinds of magical practice are condemned and it's practitioners are hunted, but compared to others, the practitioners of blood magic are hunted most fervently, even setting the birth of a special order dedicated solely to the purging of blood magic, such as the Executioners of Candlekeep. Gaining momentum and support from the hatred of the people, they hunt down every known practitioner of blood magic, be it proper wicked or innocent witches, even non-magical practitioners of simple healings are often mistaken for witches and are not spared from the Executioners' judgement. For more details on this topic, read "Executioners and Hunters", by Djura E. Gallon'.

The next chapters discusses the other previously mentioned white blood magic practices. The book claims numerous times that the practice and ways of blood ministration has been lost. With the last known practice of it being around the Victorian era, most famously in the city of Lengwyth, before a strain of blood product widely used at that time somehow 'brought chaos and mass hysteria to the populace due to unknown and unforeseen side-effects', ultimately tarnishing blood ministration and, in extend, blood magic's reputation. The practice and teachings of white blood magic and blood magic in general has, since then, rapidly decayed through time.

Our modern understanding information about blood healing and blood products are mainly acquired from salvaged medical texts and procedures that survived the test of time, or the test of fire (many magical institutions later viewed the work of any blood magic to be heretical and profaned, thus the burning).

'unlike the usual white magic, the practice of white blood magic requires much less magic in the process. Instead of magic, time and blood are it's highest price. It takes a long to create the required blood products, depending on it's aimed properties, blood products can range from days up to 12 months in the process of creation. During those time, the practitioner would treat the blood carefully, combining different bloods, creating residues, crystalizing and de-crystalizing the blood, and manipulating it's properties slowly with magic. It's a time consuming and arduous process, but it requires much less magic compared to white magic, in exchange of time'.

That's a lengthy read. But I must say it was a pleasantly surprising one. Who knew there's a possible alternative to traditional white magic. If I'm not mistaken, white magic, and healing magic in general are one of the hardest types of magic to master. It requires years of learning and practice to perfect the art of white magic, and not any wizard nor witch can just learn white magic. To practice such kind of magic requires an ample magical strength and a good understanding of the flow of magic within the human body. If what's written here is true, then there exists an alternative to traditional white magic, a method that requires less magic and thus more accessible to more wizards.

Even if it takes greater expertise to create these so called blood products, the fact still remains that magic is dwindling, and an alternative which requires less magic would be incredibly valued.

Flipping through the pages, I search for any sort of hint of how one could practice blood healing.

It's not lost to me how ironic I'm being. I started reading these books feeling burdened or disgusted at what I found and now I'm craving for more than I anticipated. I even feel disappointment when I find the passages ending yet found nothing mentioning of the steps and ways of any of the mentioned white blood magic.

I suppose, even if the knowledge does exist today, I won't be able to find it in the library's common section.

However, no matter how interesting what I've found tonight is, I found no information about the stone at all. But, I suppose, any knowledge of what it can do, that being blood magic, could still be helpful for me.

I pull out the stone from my drawer and hold it next to the candle. The warm orange glow reflects dully on the white surface, highlighting it's smooth and polished surface.

I can't help but imagine the power this stone used to have. What if it was capable of white blood magic? The book mentioned the process for creating blood products involves many items, could this stone took part in the creation of blood products in the past while it's still powerful?

I'm admittedly not that interested with this stone's destructive capabilities. Aside from it being potentially harmful to not just the victim, I fear such practice might harm myself. What piqued my interest is white blood magic, mainly it's mention of it using less magic than it's traditional counterpart.

You can bet if something that could achieve the same level of healing as traditional white magic while requiring less use of magic exists and it's approved by the wizarding world, I'd spend my life just studying it. Because even with training, learning how to effectively cast the greatest of spells with the least amount of magic, that only takes me so far.

I can learn from a thousand books a thousand spells but I'll probably be able to use less than half of them. In the end, the fact remains that to be a great wizard, one needs a powerful natural attunement to magic, something I sorely lack and can't change even with a lifetime of training.

Some wizards are just born more suited to wield magic than the others. It's as simple as that.

I shake my head and run a hand through my face.

I shouldn't think like that. Not again.

In any case, I think the chances of blood magic actually being acceptable by today's standards are slim. As far as I'm concerned, any form of blood magic falls under the category of dark magic.

It's true they practice it many years ago as the books stated, but our standard of what's 'good' and 'bad' magic have changed over years, most dramatically during the witch hunt era.

In fact, some schools of magic fail to resurface after the witch hunt in fear of its possibility to provoke uneasiness among the masses once again. Those schools of magic are ones that are feared greatly by normal people back during the witch hunt, which includes, but not limited to, dark arts.

What's good and what's bad according to the witch community hardly changes. They're tradition, after all, and we know how stubborn witches are with their traditions.

I often feel disconnected from witch traditions. Perhaps it's due to my upbringing as a normal child.

I lean back towards the wall, gazing up towards the ceiling. With the lights completely out and the lanterns put out, my room has become much darker than before. The ceiling in particular, has become an unending black void.

To think there's all kinds of magic out there, undiscovered or buried and left in the dark just because the practice terrifies people. Ahh… gives me conniptions.

A loud knock pulls me out of my thoughts, I feel my heart skip a beat even.

"What is it?!". I shout, not realizing how impatient I sound.

"it's just the three of us chill". a familiar voice calls back from outside.

Upon hearing the voice, I pause briefly, puzzling over what I should do. Quickly returning the stone to it's container and lock it, I put it safely inside the drawer and put stacks of books and papers on top of it to cover it. I push the drawer back forcefully, the encumbered drawer shifts uncomfortably against the wood.

Walking towards the door, I make sure to fix my hair and clothes to make myself more presentable. I unlock the door and open it, keeping it narrowly open just as a precaution. In front of me, are three familiar faces.

"hello!". Amanda beams, too happy for a time like this.

I wait for further explanation for their intrusion, but none came.

I say, "What do you want?"

"make some room in there so we can place these".

Amanda steps aside, revealing Jasminka who's pushing a trolley filled with briefcases, atop of it is Stanbot, a bright lantern sitting beside it, and beside them is Constanze.

Realizing their intention, I groan inwardly. I look behind me first, keeping the door narrowly open to cover their view. I make sure there's nothing too out of place, eyeing the drawer where I hid the stone just in case something happened in that brief moment of taking my eyes off of it.

While I hate to do it, I have to delay my research. Seeing Amanda's stupid grin, I know she's her mind set and won't take no for an answer.

Turning to face the three, I try to sound as welcoming as I can be.

"Get in before I change my mind".

Leaving the door open, I quickly scuttle back inside and push the items piling up on the table. Books, notes, pens and paper are shoved into the floor as I try to quickly make place for the visitors and the object they're carrying.

While I'm busy making some room, the girls took liberty and enters my room.

"thanks for letting us in!". Amanda announces as she enters my room, followed by her two friends and a robot.

The girls stops and looks around my room, studying the details of my room as if they've stumbled upon an ancient cavern of wonders or a haunted house. In all honesty though, with the lantern's lights barely reaching the corners of the room and the ceiling, my room does look like a haunted house.

While Amanda wanders around my room, I look towards Jasminka and the trolley full of briefcases she's pushing. The trolley has stopped near the middle of my room, and now with the help of Stanbot and Constanze, Jasminka begins to take the briefcases off the trolley and place them on the carpet.

"A boy's room", Amanda whistles. "Wonder what sort of things we'll find here…"

I didn't look into her face, nor did I really hear her tone, but something about the way she says it makes my cheeks warm—I try my best to supress it.

Facing her, I growl, "You'll not find anything inappropriate here, Amanda".

This reaction certainly pleases Amanda. She looks at me with a sly grin. "Ohoh, is that a challenge I hear?"

I'm speechless at that. My mouth hangs open while Amanda's grin only grows wider.

Without warning, Amanda proceeds to go around my room, quickly checking any corner and crevice for any 'inappropriate things'.

While frustrated at her behaviour, I can still tolerate it, mainly because, truthfully, there _is_ nothing inappropriate here.

That is, if you count out the stack of books relating to blood magic sitting right at my desk. Just like it was with Diana, I would rather not have people misunderstanding my intentions with them.

I move towards them and gather them all up, intending to move them to a more secure location. Suddenly, a snicker erupts from behind me, cutting my actions.

Behind me is Amanda, looking at me with the most shit eating grin ever.

I raise my brows, not to understand yet what's going on behind that grin.

Until, Amanda says, "Whatcha got there?"

I switch my gaze from her to my books then back to her again.

"I borrowed them from the library, just some old books".

Amanda comes closer towards me. "Oh, just some old books?"

I stare at her blankly, until it hits me.

It took me a minute, a full minute, until I finally understand what she's implying. Promptly, my cheeks start to feel warm again.

This, this is the very definition of a misunderstanding.

I feel my mouth hang open but no words come. Amanda takes this opportunity to continue. "Nothing inappropriate, I imagine?"

Well it _is_ inappropriate but not in _that_ way!

"These are library books, O'Neill", I remark curtly—a miserable attempt to fend off Amanda's attack—and hold the book further away from the girl. "You won't find anything weird among them".

"Then why are you holding onto it so tightly?"

I scowl at her. I really have no answer and I know this spells defeat if it persists.

"I assure you, this are regular books. Curricular books for classes. So keep your sticky paws off".

"If it's nothing inappropriate, then let me see them".

As Amanda reaches for the books, I instinctively move away from her. This only serves to increase Amanda's suspicion.

She tries again, and again, and again. Every time she tries to reach for the books, I move away or swipe her hands off.

At this point, our little scene has stirred the attention of both Constanze and Jasminka. They both watch our every little fight intently, Jasminka literally having popcorn as she watches.

Amanda's grin begins to falter as our struggle shows no conclusive end.

I'd thought she'd given up, but then, a smile reappears.

Amanda's face lights up, her eyes widen in surprise as her gaze shifts to something behind me.

Pointing behind me, she cries, "Oh my god! A shooting star with two tails!"

My eyes immediately widen. I look behind me and cry, "truly?! Twin Tailed comets are a rarity!"

And before I got wiser, Amanda tackles me to the ground and forcefully wrests the books from my hands.

I was still on the floor while Amanda is already permitting herself to skim around my books. However, her victorious grin slowly turns upside down as she goes further into the books.

"Aw maaan, you're telling the truth".

I say nothing to her. Still on the floor, I only grumble to myself in defeat, cursing myself how easily I fell for the oldest trick in the book.

Amanda pauses her page flipping, her eyes shows confusion and her lips part. "Eh… what sort of book is this anyway?"

This attracts the attention of her two friends. Like nightmare born to reality, they scurry towards her and take a look.

There's no running away from it now, I guess.

To my surprise, Jasminka's face lights up in recognition. "Oh! This is like those spell books of old Baba Yaga back in Russia".

Amanda looks to her with wide eyes. "Baba Yaga, Baba Yaga?" She asks in confirmation

Jasminka nods. "Big bad witch. She uses lots of bad magic!"

On the floor, I frown.

'Bad magic', yeah right, there's no such thing as that!

"Yikes!" Amanda exclaims, closing the book shut. Amanda shifts her gaze at me, a worried look on her face, very rare. "Why'd you read stuff like this?"

I stir on the floor and now face upwards. It's rather comical; I look like a snake.

"Class curriculum", I answer flatly.

The three girls don't buy it, but its only Amanda who shows it outside as she narrows her eyes at me. "Riiiight"

"Look, is it wrong to like to read about all kinds of magic on my spare time, even 'bad' ones?"

Supreme tactic engaged: shift the spotlight on someone else!

"I mean, look at Consey here. Literally everything she does is an offense to the rules of this school and you think I'm not okay for doing this?"

Constanze's eyes widen in realization. She nods fervently, agreeing with me wholly.

It looks like I've accidentally gained an ally to the cause?

"We're all troublemakers, then", Jasminka concludes. I'm glad she's sort of on my side here too.

Amanda still seems unease but agrees anyway. "Yeah, but one of us is edgier than the others, though".

I scowl at her. My cheeks puffed, but I say nothing.

While I show irritation outside, I'm actually glad inside. I don't get some overreaction from them. I guess I was being too paranoid.

I stand up and take my books from Amanda's hands, she doesn't resist. I say, "Now that that's over, are we going to have a movie night sequel or what?"

"no! don't kill me noo!". the girl screams before the alien shoots a beam that turns her into a frog.

What a weird movie, I thought to myself as I take a sip of a warm glass of choco.

Glancing around, I find Amanda and Constanze close to the screen, fully immersed in the movie, both not taking their eyes from the screen as they grab a handful of popcorns from one shared bucket. Jasminka sits not far behind them with her own snack.

Meanwhile, I stay quite far back, leaning myself on the wall.

A movement from the group catches my attention, and soon I spot Jasminka standing up and approaching me. She sits in front of me, hand extended as she offers me her snack.

"what's this?" I ask.

"Belladrake chocolates, it's good".

Curious of the name, I reach and take a piece of the oddly named snack. Quickly after eating it, I taste the sweet sugary chocolate with a complementing taste of sour I often find in grapes.

I'm quite surprised with this one, now that I think about it, this must be what Witches have for snacks. It's entirely different from what I would normally have.

"it's good, grapey". I manage to say in between chews.

Jasminka smiles seeing my approval. Offering more, she reaches and offers a handful for me.

"here, have some more".

I place my mug down and cup my hands together to take the chocolates.

"that's a lot, I might feel bad". I remark.

"don't be, I bought it for us to share".

She smiles an infectious smile, one that I can't resist to return. It's a small act that pulls me back to the atmosphere around me. I realize shouldn't think too much, my friends are here and I should enjoy the moment instead of creeping at the back of the room and overthinking things.

I let the thought of Jasminka being the one who prepares snacks for the four of us amuse me. I can imagine her walking down the supermarket isle with a list on her hand, buying snacks like groceries.

It almost feels like the three of them plans these kinds of things. I feel somewhat elated knowing they planned and chose to spend time with me.

I let my mind wander about how they plan things like this. Jasminka handling the snacks, Constanze providing the movie projector, and perhaps Amanda as the… party leader? I don't know what role she might contribute to the team, other than as the main conversation starter and their representative. Yet even though I slightly hate to admit it, this small party wouldn't be complete without Amanda. She sounds like a party leader to me.

I look ahead, towards the film and the two girls captivated by it.

They're a fun bunch, always a bundle of fun bundled together with a green ribbon. I have to say, compared to the rest of the students in this school, and even people in general, these three manages to impress me more than all of them could, for better or for worse. I mean, who would've even thought or dared to have a secret movie night with a forbidden technology in a magic school famous for their strict rules of said kinds of technologies?

I'm honestly glad they see that I'm a trustworthy enough person that I'm allowed to partake in their daily forbidden activities. Even though the price for hanging out with them is sometimes my dignity, I have to say they know how to have fun.

But the good thoughts also bring bad ones: I'm reminded soon the worry I've been having lately about what these three really feels about the race.

Looking around, I realize it's just me and Jasminka back here. The two girls, and the robot, are well in front and out of earshot.

"what's wrong?". Jasminka suddenly asks, picking up on my quick change of expression.

"hm? ah it's nothing". I smile to her reassuringly.

But Jasminka doesn't seem to believe me, she surprisingly presses on the matter further.

"you look troubled, is everything alright?".

I'm surprised, honestly. I didn't expect her to care that far.

"I… am? Do I look troubled?".

"mhm" she nods. "you've been quiet".

"am I not normally quiet?". I force a chuckle, hoping it'll slightly ease her worries.

But something tells me it won't, she seems genuinely worried.

I'm not going to tell her about what I've been doing and the thoughts that equally troubles and excites me right now, but now a new idea crosses my mind. Since I've captured her concern, I might as well take the opportunity and ask her just another matter that's been troubling me lately.

"you're not going to leave me until I tell you are you?".

Jasminka smiles and shakes her head.

"alright alright you win". I sigh to myself. "have a sit you're in for a paragraph".

With her permission granted, Jasminka gladly takes a seat beside me.

"Right, I'm going to be as frank as I can, so this thing's been bothering me for the longest time now, I tried to not think about it but seeing that— okay, okay get straight to the point".

Drawing a deep breath, I try and remind myself of the question that I've been dying to get the answer these past few days.

"what did you think of the race?". I ask.

I notice the brief pause from her, followed by light shuffling.

"the race? Well this is sudden".

"well I'm just curious". I tell her. "the curiosity is truly killing me".

I let out a small chuckle, just to make her feel my question is nothing to be answered too seriously.

I wait for her answer which takes an eternity of silence to come. The silence lasts longer than I expected that I'm beginning to worry if I've reminded her of something she'd rather not be reminded of. Maybe I'm too quick to bring this up? Was I too blunt?

Just before I pull my question back, Jasminka finally speaks up. However, it seems her cause of silence isn't what I think it was.

"you're… wondering if the three of us are upset because of the race?".

Apparently, she sees right through me.

"w-well… yeah, I guess I am".

Jasminka takes a good moment to think, looking ahead, she gazes towards her two friends. The wait takes seconds yet it felt like ages, I was starting to think that her answer won't ever come, but soon she breaks her silence.

"Constanze and I, the two of us didn't care much of the race at the beginning, it was Amanda who did, so in the end we care for it too". Jasminka starts.

"and then, the two of us were pretty sad about the race, but it was Amanda who wasn't, so in the end we followed what she felt again".

She pauses for a moment as she turns to look at me.

"she's not upset, so we're not upset".

She stops, letting her words sink for me.

I'm reminded of the day of the race, reminded of how happy and enthusiastic Amanda were that day, and how she quickly dismisses her own interests when she sees her friend feeling guilty of her loss. Even when Jasminka messed up the race for them, she didn't care. She didn't want her friend to feel terrible.

She easily forgets something that's dear to her just to comfort her friend.

"so, why ask me?". Jasminka asks, pulling me out of my own thoughts.

"what?".

"why ask me? Why not just ask the two of them?".

I can't just walk up to the two of them and ask what they think of the race, can I?

As if reading my mind, Jasminka says before I could continue, "they don't know you're the one who threw the baton away you know? So you're safe".

I'm quickly reminded of the accident between me and the piece of bagel and what that memory entails

"I…. yes yes I'll give you that, I apologize".

Hearing my heartfelt apology, Jasminka smiles warmly. "apology accepted". She says, and turns to look towards the film. "none of them knows about your mistake, but I can't imagine the two of them being angry at you even if they do".

I follow her gaze, looking ahead towards the film and the two girls who are immersed in it.

"yeah? What makes you say that".

"I just know", she says with a soft smile.

Jasminka pauses briefly, her gaze still locked ahead. She then asks, "you're worried aren't you?".

"Worried? Oh I wouldn't call it worried. But, as much as she sometimes annoys the living hell out of me, she's still a friend, and so deserves my worries. I think".

Jasminka lets a light chuckle escape before turning to me and continuing.

"you should try to be honest". She smiles. "it'll make things way easier".

With that, she says nothing else, stands up, and returns to her friends, leaving me back here alone with my own thoughts to think about.

Try to be honest, I repeat to myself.

I can't say that's a bad idea, If want to know how they honestly feel about the race, I should start with myself and be honest with all three of them.

I'm glad Jasminka isn't so down hearted with all this, I've had fears that she still feels guilt for taking part in the cause of the disqualification, but I'm very glad to see she's moved on well past that. I'm happy to see she's open and honest about her thoughts and feelings, and she's even supportive of me to do the same.

I suppose she really wants me to be honest and just talk openly with them all, not something I'd try or even think of doing myself. But, seeing that it's what Jasminka seems to want, or wish me to do, I find it hard not to try.

In fact it's natural for me to feel terrible when a supportive person offers their help or suggestion and I ignore it, it's often the main driving force for me to do the right thing to be honest. Not from my own good will, not from my own good conscious, but because I feel bad when other people offers their help and I ignore them.

I'm such a nice person, I thought to myself as I chew the Belldrake chocolates, followed by a gulp of warm choco, mixing the sweet warm flavour of the choco with the strong, chewy and sour flavour of the grapey Belldrake chocolate.

It's not a bad night.

Adjusting my seat, I suddenly feel a nudge on my elbow and before I knew it I've accidentally nudged the stack of books beside me. Dropping with a low thud, the third book, a brown, leathered book that I've yet to open now lies on the floor, it's yellowed pages flaps open due to the fall.

I quietly pull the fallen book closer, but as I do, I can't help but catch a glimpse of a sentence written on it's aged paper.

'Blood Fuel Spirit'.


	18. An Unexpected Visit

The air was cold and humid, the clouds were dark on the horizon, and the trees rustles as the wind pushes through them.

I lean back and rest myself on a tree, the open book in my hand lies open, it's pages flips freely with the wind.

A new sound appears, one that doesn't naturally belong here. Looking down the hill, I spot Michelle heading towards me with noticeable difficulties in her steps alongside her laboured breath. She doesn't bother to try and hide her current state of exhaustion.

"Thought I'd find you here", she stops halfway through and tries to catch her breath, "couldn't you pick a place closer to the school?".

"nope, too much distraction there", I tell her. With the unexpected guest, I take my books and shove them inside my bag, shutting it tightly as further safety measures.

After another minute of catching her breath, Michelle continues her approach and finally arrives beside me and leans on the tree. "Keep this up and you'll grow to be a hermit", she remarks.

Michelle pauses and looks ahead towards the vast sea of trees all around us. Her breath has started to calm down now, leaning on the tree still, she relaxes and let's herself enjoy the scenery. I wouldn't blame her, with the Sorcerer's Stone still busted, walking here by foot is tiring.

"I was searching for you", she begins again, "you got a visitor back at the school"

"someone's looking for me?", I ask incredulously.

"mhm, why the surprise?", she asks. Standing up straight, Michelle pats the dust off her back and extends her hand towards me, "come on, before the wolves arrive".

The walk back was mostly silent, with Michelle leading the way through the densely packed forest while humming a tune I'm accustomed to. Her long brown hair waving with the wind, and her pace is almost skipped. As we pass through the forest, I can soon see the towering structure of Luna Nova appearing on the horizon. First to come into view is the bright green glow of the sorcerer's stone, one that was under heavy maintenance mere days ago.

Indeed, it was malfunctioning. But the reason for it was mistaken for awhile. You'd thought that a certain Japanese girl was responsible, but really, the school actually owes her gratitude. When I was back at Yen's Forest, Akko managed to break a ley line cable somewhere within the school, basically a thing that enhances the distribution of magic from the sorcerer's stone around the school, terribly furious, miss Finnelan quickly puts a heavy punishment to the poor witch not before giving her an earful. But as the workers arrives and begins to fix the broken Ley Line cable, they discovered that a large part of them are terribly damaged, and not because of Akko, but by the effects of time. The workers discovered that a great amount of them are rusted beyond repair and needing immediate replacement, which explains the heavy overhaul the workers did days ago. The quartermaster claimed that if they hadn't discovered the rusted cables, the damages would've been terribly dire, far worse than a single cable broken, and the Sorcerer's Stone itself might've suffered damage that the school would've been unable to afford the fix. So basically, Akko had managed to save the school by breaking one of the cables and making the workers discover the already rusted cables across the school.

The world works in mysterious ways.

As if thinking the same thing, Michelle suddenly breaks the silence and speaks what's on her mind, "yep, that's why we went all organic back home".

She must be referring to the Sorcerer's Stone back in _her_ home, her solitary tower in the middle of the forest that is Yen's Forest—the place I first took my magical training under her.

Indeed, I was her apprentice there for a while, learning the basics of magic. Michelle was essentially my first introduction to real magic education before I ended up here in Luna Nova.

It wasn't the easiest being an apprentice under someone like Michelle. Her teaching methods were pretty… brutal, for lack of better word

"you say that as if you took any part in whatever happened back home", I point out.

To explain, her sorcerer's stone is naturally encased within an ancient tree hidden deep within Yen's forest, it's connected to everything within Yen's forest, and as such it is quite literally the heart of the forest. It's not something that's taken and put somewhere where it naturally doesn't belong; placed on a tower for a school to harvest it's power. I heard Michelle's mother discovered the sorcerer stone in Yen's forest in a stroke of pure luck when she was but a young witch, and when she finally returned in the future she casted a protective spell so that none might trespass it's domain and taint the stone's purity, she greatly believed in limitations, and that witches do not control the ways of magic, but the exact opposite.

Compared to hers, the popularly depicted traditional Luna Nova is less traditional than us.

"witches do not own magic…", Michelle begins.

"…magic is magic, it's not owned nor controlled by anyone", I finish, "yes, yes, I heard that a million times".

I couldn't see it from back here, but I can feel her smiling at her own words.

As we approach the school grounds, I begin to spot a familiar face not far from the school's massive entrance. Amadeus stands in wait, his back facing us as he gazes upwards towards the towering structure of the school, apparently studying it's impressive architecture. Though as I near him, I notice the dark brown hood he's wearing.

"must be an interesting wall", I say as I near him, "now why are you—".

At this, Amadeus turns to face us, and as he does, I notice his once smooth face is now riddled with bandages, covering his most of his left cheek and all the way down to his chin.

"—Merlin's beard what the hell happened to you?!", I exclaim.

"stop overreacting jeez! It's not that bad!", Amadeus pleas, pulling his hood closer to cover his face further, "just a small accident all right? Nothing to make a fuss about".

"what kind of accident? My god I didn't know you could look worse, man!".

"very mature", Amadeus fakes a laugh, his hands still holding on to his hood, "I was just practising transmutation and accidentally broke a mirror in the process, glass shrapnel, little, demonic sharp things cut my face good".

I cringe at the thought of having to suffer through that.

"I actually feel sorry for you".

"thanks, I guess". Amadeus mutters before letting go of his hood. "but this isn't why I'm here you know?".

Amadeus shifts his gaze towards Michelle, who quickly holds both her hands up in response and retreats a pace back. "All right, all right, boys stuff! I'll be on my way!"

Michelle turns and quickly enters school, closing the door behind her and now leaving only the two of us here.

I turn to face Amadeus, brows furrowed. "I didn't invite you here, did I?"

"No, I came here in my own accord".

Amadeus glances around us, his eyes curiously scanning the school fields and the people found around here. "Reminds me of one of the school I went into a year ago".

"One of the many where you got transferred away, I reckon?"

"The teachers were a pain", Amadeus says, a far too bright smile on his face.

…

As soon as we enter my room, a familiar bubbling noise emerges as Francis swims happily when he notices my return.

"Oh, goldfish", Amadeus says.

The young apprentice takes off his hood, revealing once again his bandaged face. It certainly looks bad, from the size of those bandages at least, though however deep the cut I might never know. I'm tempted to further study his wounds and ask him more about it, but I figured he wouldn't wear the hood if he wanted to talk about it and I soon made the better judgment.

"That's Francis, Frank Francis the Third", I tell the boy. "Now, do you want something? I don't know how long you'll stay but I can make a drink or two, something like tea, if you want".

"no, I'm fine". Amadeus politely declines. He continues to approach the goldfish, absently staring at the fish within and proceeding to knock the fishbowl a few times with his finger.

"ah that reminds me, lunch for him". Leaving the two, I went about to search for the can of fish food within my cupboard. I was immediately stopped however, when I hear Amadeus call to me in a low, almost whispering voice.

"You know, I called Marcus".

I immediately stop on my tracks. Not facing him, I ask, striving to sound as calm as possible, "Yeah? How'd it go?"

"He told me nothing! I'm not surprised, though, he's always like that when I start being nosy about what he does at work. I really don't like that but hey, what can I do? It sounds like another one of his confidential work stuff".

I huff out air, relieved that my lie then worked up well.

I'm more than glad that Amadeus won't put his inquisitive nose around me anytime soon.

Regardless, I note a bit of worry in the boy's voice.

"He's going to be fine, Amadeus".

Amadeus quickly throws his gaze away. "I know, I know, I was just worried", he expresses. "I didn't think much about it until I found out people died that night".

I frown and hide it by facing away. Indeed, I was on the same boat as Amadeus. I didn't think much about everything that happened until after I realize some good people lost their lives that night.

Amadeus notices my return and takes the can from my hand, twisting the lid open, he sprinkles the can's contents into the fishbowl.

"It just sounds like something serious, you know? And it doesn't help that I know about it, I feel like I would've been better if I didn't eavesdrop you folks and know about all this".

He pauses, his eyes evade me. "I guess I should say sorry?"

"Maybe this'll stop you from eavesdropping ever again, then", I say dryly. "You're worried about your old man, I get it, but he'll be fine, he knows what he's doing.

I sure hope he does, because it's not just his wellbeing on the line here!

Really, why the hell is Amadeus worried? He shouldn't be the one worried about this, _I_ should be the one worried here dammit.

Amadeus's quiet expression makes me unable to read what's on his mind or what he thinks of my suggestion. Amadeus is lost in his thoughts as he gazes silently towards the fish bowl, still holding the can of fish food on his hand. His absent look forces me to stop what he's doing. Grabbing his hand, I stop him from overfeeding my friend.

"That's enough", I say.

Amadeus turns to me and blinks a few times, as if he's just awoken from a brief sleep. Forcing a smile, he pulls his hand back as I release his hand from my grip.

"right, sorry", he doesn't let go of the can, he fumbles it on his hands as he continues. "I was just thinking about what sort of crazy thing Marcus got himself into this time".

Amadeus seems pretty lost in his own head today.

I briefly look away, trying to think exactly how will I distract him and make him worry less about all this. I'm thinking how to be a good friend right now/

Unfortunately the only thing in my head today is... well, blood magic, so unfortunately for Amadeus...

"You know, Amadeus, I've been looking up more on blood magic. In fact I was in the middle of doing so when you called me here".

"I thought you said to forget about…" Amadeus's words trail off as I leave him.

I take off my bag and place it on the desk, opening it, I place the books I've been reading lately and push them towards Amadeus to see. I wait and say nothing as I do this, waiting for his reaction to come instead.

"Dark Arts?", Amadeus reads.

His tone, to my relieve and delight, lacks cautiousness. Without a hint of hesitation, Amadeus takes one of the books and flips through the pages with interest. I didn't expect that he's one of those rare people who lets their curiosities get the better of them, and has at least once tried their hand on these kinds of knowledge.

He lifts the book for a closer look, now properly interested with it. "well you've been busy".

I push the book I've been interested in closer to him, tapping it's hard cover to get his attention, "Down the rabbit hole", I remark.

Seeing the book, Amadeus pauses and stops flipping through the pages of the one he has on his hands. He eyes the white covered book cautiously while I say nothing, instead, just like before, I wait for his own reaction first. Curious of how will he react.

Opening the white covered book, Amadeus skims his finger through the aged paper as he studies the book's content. He says nothing the entire time, and I took the chance and walk towards my cupboard, intending to prepare myself a warm beverage.

Steam escapes from the green pot, the sizzling sound soon fill the quietened room. I can't see Amadeus's face with my back turned to him.

The teabag hangs suspended within the cup, spreading it's dark red into the warm water.

Eventually, I break my silence. "This white blood magic, this blood healing, it's something else I tell you. A form of magic that could heal all kinds of ailments, can you imagine that?"

"it's gone though", Amadeus reminds me. "Poof, no one practices it anymore".

"yeah, maybe it is, but remind yourself of London. A stone that was claimed to be one of the strongest blood catalyst in the world appeared on our doorstep. Imagine what we could find next!"

"Yes, but like, it's broken", Amadeus says dryly. "Also you did just say forget about what happened then, you should listen to your own advice, dude".

It hurts, the cold fact and my hypocrisy, so much that I act in denial and pretend I didn't hear him.

The teaspoon clinks against the cup's interior repeatedly, echoing the same noise over and over again through the quite room. "I'm not gifted when it comes to magic". I say, intentionally not explaining further on that. "So things like these, ones that give some sort of _alternative_ always interest me".

"what do you mean, alternative?".

I stop my stirring to answer him. "the brown, the brown book, I think it's page 224. I think".

Amadeus says nothing and complies, switching books and flipping through the pages until he finds the one I mentioned. Soon the sound of pages being flipped stops, indicating he's found it. Taking a moment, Amadeus finally reads the title aloud.

"blood fuel …".

I let myself turn to see the young wizard, the book still in his hands, he slowly lifts his head up to look at me. "Ew?" He winces, I shrug in reply

Amadeus returns his attention to the book, he begins reading through the chapter as I continue my explanations.

"it's a very rare type of magic even in the past, even back then when blood magic was not uncommon most still considered it a myth", I begin, stopping briefly to let him understand each of my words, and the next, "It's quite simple, really, a conversion of blood into magic, I believe you're well informed on the law of transmutation, it's as such, a law of equal exchange".

"yes but this is different", Amadeus suddenly cuts me, a frown on his face. "This uses blood for the exchange, that's gross, and wrong".

"Really? In my opinion it's not _that_ morbid", I say, leaving the tea behind I approach Amadeus, joining to take a look at the book he's holding.

I stop when I notice the flat look Amadeus is giving me. Here I realize just how unsettling and creepy my answer was. More nervous than before, I hold up my hands and resume approaching the boy, saying "Stay with me".

I flip through the pages, fumbling a few times, trying to find where my point lies in an attempt to convince Amadeus that what I'm recently obsessed with isn't something creepy. I realize how nervous I'm growing as I realize I'm running out of ways to convince him.

"it's not something out of bedtime stories, they're not vampires and the likes…", skimming my finger through the aged paper, I stop and point to one passage, "…long ago, it was supposedly used by clandestine cults, hidden all around the world, and just wizards today, there's the bad, and the good… and the ugly. You can use other human's blood, if you're _that_ sort of person of course, but if you're not, then an alternative lies on other creatures, magical creatures to be exact. Or even better: yourself, if you're into that 'self-sacrifice' stuff", I explain, without lifting my gaze from the book, I can guess just how Amadeus is eyeing at me at the moment.

Amadeus doesn't seem to buy any of this. His frown only tightens and in reaction I feel nervous sweat rolling down my temple as I further fumble over what I say. I realize I'm running out of convincing lines.

"N-Now I know what you're thinking, but it seems that there are certain types of creatures, made, or bred, for this purpose and this purpose only, as bloodletting beasts. Even wild beasts can be used to fuel this magic, but of course, mythical creatures seems to hold more magic in it's blood, or so the book said! it's not far different than hunting if you think about it".

I stop on my tracks, honestly not having anything more to say to defend my odd obsession. Meanwhile Amadeus gives me a silent, judging stare. I fumble before it and have to look away, twirling my fingers together in nervousness.

Amadeus finally ends the tense silence, "you read that much?"

"yes, yes I did?", I answer, facing him again, dumbfounded by his odd question", I was curious and it's a pretty fun read".

"Fun read", Amadeus repeats, as if trying to make me aware of what I just said. "And why are you even doing this? I doubt anyone would allow you to do something like this even if you could somehow pull something like this off, yet you read through this all so religiously?"

Shit. That's a good point.

My eyes trail away from the boy as I couldn't find any comeback.

Amadeus doesn't stop. "I thought you looked unusually happy today but I didn't expect it's because of this!"

He waits for any response from me, which is nearly none. His point is sound, and I really have no reason to do what I do, based on his limited perspective that is.

I fumble the teaspoon over my fingers, trying to fumble through the mess which is my brain as I try and make up some sort of excuse.

"I um…. Oh no, I forgot about the tea!".

Retreating from Amadeus, I scurry over to where I left the tea. It's not cold yet, thankfully, and the heat is somehow exactly what I was aiming for. Lifting the cup, I take a good sip of the tea, the mild sweetness and warm drink quickly warms my cold body.

"good tea, nice brand, very nice taste, very nice indeed, only 3,99" I mutter.

"Jericho—".

"I'm just curious alright?!", I abruptly exclaim, nearly spilling my tea as I do so and surprising Amadeus, "Look, just imagine how cool it is to—".

"use blood to fuel magic?", Amadeus completes my sentence, his arms crossed and brows arch as he observes me.

I lift a finger as I was about to continue with another paragraph to correct, or sugar coat his too barbaric assumption. I was about to, but looking at his expression, I believe that his question is not the kind meant to be answered.

Instead, all that could escape me was a forced and nervous chuckle

Amadeus sighs at this, giving a look that screams 'I thought you're supposed to be the mature one among us'. He says, "You're crazy sometimes you know that?"

"any grand wizard needs a touch of madness, my dear Amadeus", I say with lifted chin—a false display of confidence. Amadeus doesn't respond, his judging stare persisting on me. Eventually I gulp and have to make change of our conversation.

"I know you didn't ask for it but while we were squawking earlier I unconsciously made tea for two, so you have no choice but to drink it".

"what, what? oh fine", Amadeus sighs, it was a relieved sigh, but I presume it's one caused by his uncomfortable feeling towards the current topic and his want to escape said topic. He snaps the book closed and places it on the desk, "just give me that and I'll try and forget everything you just said".

He takes a sip of his tea. After a moment he says, "I thought I'd be more relaxed going to you today".

The sun is starting to set once we're outside, the forest path that Michelle and I took earlier has vanished under the dark canopies of the forest as the sun hangs red in the sky, which signals the closing of the school gates. Flocks of witches flying on their brooms appear at the distant red horizon, returning from their out of school activities outside of the school grounds.

Amadeus already has his broom extended to it's flight size on his hand, adjusting his leather gloves, the apprentice wizard turns to me,

"well, didn't realize it's this late", Amadeus muses.

Without a word of spell, Amadeus merely throws his broom lightly into the air, and just like that the broom levitates in front of him. But before he mounts, he pauses shortly and turns towards the scenery before us.

"almost magical isn't it?".

"mhm, I'd buy a painting of this", I say, "not the cheap ones, ones that are expensive and I'll hang it on my room".

I see no reaction from him to my lame attempt at humour. Amadeus mounts his broom and begins his slow ascent, and for the first time since I met him, the apprentice wizard looks down on me like a knight would to his squire. Pulling his broom, he now faces the broom away from the school, "just… don't do anything stupid in my absence".

"define stupid".

Amadeus sighs. Putting on his goggles, he adjusts it and prepares his take off. He points at me and says with narrowed eyes, "also, just stop reading weird things".

Amadeus pulls the broom away and with a kick the broom flies off away from the school, leaving a small trail of dust for me to bite, which I presume he did that on purpose. Forcing to supress a smile, I return his farewell and wave my hand to the departing apprentice, who's now but a silhouette against the red backdrop.

Well, can't say I handled everything today perfectly.

Before I could return inside and to my own thoughts, I notice a trio of witches approaching here towards the school doors, all with brooms laced with equally coloured blue ribbons rested on their shoulders.

Between the three, Diana was the first to notice me, "good evening, Jericho", she greets.

"evening is good", I reply.

I'm both surprised and honestly unprepared when I notice both Hannah and Barbara lacking her usual look of disgust once they catch me in their field of view. Even more astonishing is their decision to leave their team leader behind as they scurry ahead towards me. Knowing them, I keep my expectations low.

Barbara was the first to speak, she does so in a hushed yet eager tone. "hey hey, who's your friend?", she asks.

"eh, why ask?", I absently return the question.

"he's kinda cute", Hannah adds.

I blink a few times, trying to wrap my head around what I just heard. Eventually, the initial surprise leaves me once I thought about it and understand where they're coming from. Putting a finger to my chin, I say, "Hm, yes, he's sort of the baby of my group".

I'd thought girls would fall for those tall, manly muscly types of men, but apparently, short and adorable also fits the bill. Unfortunately I'm neither.

I feel thankful when I notice Diana re-joining the two and effectively cutting our conversation with. "We do enjoy to spend further time with you here, but if you'll excuse us, Jericho, it's been a terribly long day and we'd like to head back to our dormitories immediately".

"I'm getting inside as well", I say.

In our walk back inside, I notice Hannah slowing down her pace so she could walk side by side with me. "Sooo, Jericho, who was he anyway?", she asks, eyes attentively on me, something I've never seen her do under normal circumstances.

"a colleague".

"is he a wizard friend?", Barbara joins in, she was quick to correct her loud question and continues with a lower hushed tone, yet with equal enthusiasm, "is he like… from another academy?".

The two girls now has me surrounded, sandwiching me like this is some sort of interrogation tactic. With me in the middle, they hope to squeeze out any small information as they possibly could. I'm beginning to realize the terrors those people who are interrogated by the Guardians might feel, more so if it's done by these two. I'm beginning to feel uncomfortable with them being so close to me.

"you could say that, I think", I answer. Both of them seems to notice my short, dismissive, and rather annoyed answers, which in turn makes them more and more inclined to press on.

"heh, maybe he's scared of competition", Barbara whispers to her friend, loud enough for me to hear, perhaps it was intentional even.

"competition? How ridiculous, it's not a competition if he loses right away!" Hannah quietly laughs.

I puff my cheeks and face away from the two, forcing myself to just stare to the corridors in front of me. Meanwhile, the two girls don't cease her interrogation on me, poking me with endless questions surrounding Amadeus and another about, in Barbara's words, 'any other cute wizard friends I have'.

After a long overdue sigh, I face them again and answer, "No, Barbara, I don't know anyone else, and no, Hannah, we're not friends for that long so there's really nothing much for me to say about him, aside from him being a nicer person than me, generally, maybe".

"not a hard feat to accomplish", Hannah with a smirk.

I narrow my eyes at her. Frowning, I say, "you barely spend time with me".

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ **Little Witch Academia the Chamber of Time got delayed : (**

 **hello everyone! It's your favourite author once again, now I know that this chapter is short, but I sort of prefer it that way. Because if you're like me, writing incredibly long chapters makes reviewing and correcting it terribly tiring and boring to be honest. I just hope that I can keep making moderate length chapters while still keeping a feeling of connection between the chapters. I've been actively trying to cut the length of my next chapters, so this is also the reason as to why the shorter chapters. I'm never a good storyteller, not even in my native language let alone English! So bear with me as I try and find the perfect balance of length and effectiveness. And also I'm trying to find that sweet style of dialogue, if you care enough of this story you'll find the way I write dialogues is slightly different now? I don't know if it's significant enough to make a change honestly.**

 **And another, I've been meaning to further review or even further fixing my earlier chapters, I keep saying that, but it's easier said than done to be honest.**

 **Oh and about the delayed game, I'm honestly not that upset about it, I mean, that really means that the developers and publishers had the same idea and they care for the game and see it unready, better have a delayed complete game than a ready but half-baked game. Also I'm immune to delays, I'm still waiting for Mount & Blade 2 Bannerlord to come out, and if you know how long that game has been in the TBA section, you'd know I'd survive a weak delay like this. I'm still waiting and faithful 3**

 **Last but always not least, don't be scared to follow and favourite this special fanfic, and of course leave a review, doing so really helps me in understanding what the hell I'm doing wrong and what the hell I'm doing right! So leave a review, I won't bite I promise.**

 **Also also again, before the meme is too dead, can someone make a Somebody Toucha Ma Spaghet meme but edit it so Croix replaces the bear? Thanks in advance.**

 **P.S. Hannah and Barbara won't be a playable character in the game, I'm sad : (**

 **P.S.S.S. I will drink from your skull : )**


	19. Your Choice Of Friends

**Author's Notes: welcome back. I know it's been terribly long, so terribly out of character. I've been busy with a lot of things lately, lots of tiring things that needs to be taken care of. But what really holds me from publishing new chapters is the many writing I've been doing lately, writing to rework and improve my earlier chapters.**

 **It's not a small rework, my writing skills (if you can call it that) is vastly different from when i started this fic, and truth be told, I'm not completely happy with my earlier chapters.**

 **So I've been working on that, a lot. If you go back you can see that chapter 5 has finished it's Rebirth (that's what i like to call this rework, like DC comics see), and its following chapters will be given the same attention too. In fact, chapter 6 is already reworked, just unpublished yet, because publishing its rework on this state will cause confusion for it's overall difference to the old one. The point is, to avoid confusion and disconnection of story progression, I plan on publishing the reworks ONCE all the reworks are done with, publish them all together as to avoid story disconnection.**

 **You shouldn't worry too much, there won't be that great of a difference in main details in the reworked chapter, but it's style of presentation and plot delivery will be vastly different from that of the old ones that I'm sure you'll get a vastly different experience reading through them.**

 **tl;dr: Rework on earlier chapters is in progress: its totally fine to not read them since the overall story is the same, but it's also different enough that reading them is still a fresh experience.**

 **I'm your host: Wayward Bot, and this is Tonight Show Yee Haw Edition (tm) Featuring Dante From Devil May Cry with Knuckles and Tales From Sega's Sonic Franchise.**

 **enjoy.**

* * *

It's early morning, at least I think it is. I have no exact idea of what time it is, but what I do know is that I'm sleepy, tired, and that the moon still reigns supreme somewhere on the still starry sky. The hour of sunrise is soon to come, but yet so far. Stumbling through the cold hallways of Luna Nova is me, without a single soul for a companion as I cradle a large wooden crate filled with things I do not care nor able to name any. And beside me, a soulless automaton walks in diligent steps, atop its tiny yet surprisingly sturdy hands is a wooden crate similar to mine, though differing in its contents.

Without anyone starting any form of conversation, I find myself almost drifting to sleep along the journey. It's thanks to Stanbot that I'm numerously saved from collision courses.

"That's a fourth", I say, half-surprised yet still half-drowsy, "maybe we should stop and have a little rest".

Sensing my imminent abandonment of duty, Stanbot takes the joke to heart and points its metal fingers accusingly towards me, "no stopping! Work work work!".

"I'm just joking!" I cry, "why are you so hostile to me man, why you gotta make this… so antagonizing for me?".

At this point, I'm slurring through some words.

"No joking!" Stanbot commands, "finish task quickly!".

Without waiting for me to gather my senses, Stanbot continues its march through the hallway, leaving me behind a few paces. With an unsuppressed yawn, I head on and keep up with the robot, hoping that all this nonsense would pay me handsomely in the near future.

Through the turning hallways we walk, and up through the spiralling staircases we went, all to finally arrive at our destination: the tower above the Labyrinth, Luna Nova's main tower that houses the magnificent Sorcerer's Stone.

Or not so magnificent, for now at least.

The first thing I notice as we step into the uppermost level was the ridiculously cold air, with the moon hanging somewhere in the sky, now is the hour farthest away from sunset and closest to sunrise, and along with it is a series of unwelcomed cold wind from the far oceans.

Morning winds are from oceans right? I'm not sure I'm not gifted in geography.

The Sorcerer's Stone glows dully atop it's towering pedestal, and with it comes the memories of the last time I set eyes on it this close, of the dragon attack that nearly doomed the whole school. There's no lighting in this room, I assume it's unneeded since normally the Sorcerer's Stone grows brightly on it's own, but at it's current state, the room is mostly left for the stars to light.

Beside the foot of the pedestal sits one short witch, tinkering with her machinations in preparation for her so called grand plan. And shifting my eyes elsewhere, I find the red headed witch, sitting carelessly at the edge of the room as her legs dangle off the edge.

Hearing our arrival, Amanda turns her head to look. "what took you so long?", she asks.

"If I have the energy to strangle you, I might strangle you, Amanda", I tiredly threaten the witch.

"Ooh, someone's grumpy", Amanda amuses, unaffected to my threat in the slightest.

Stanbot hurries away towards its master, forcing me to return my attention to where it's needed. Following it, I hurry to the tinkering witch.

"There", I say, "that's all you asked, whatever those were".

We place the crate in front of Constanze, and without wasting a minute to chatter (as if she could), the little witch digs through the contents to find whatever parts she needs.

I wait here, standing still in front of the busy Constanze, as if I'm waiting for some sort of gratitude from her.

"Yeah you'd die before you get it", Amanda remarks, and finally I stop my wait for it.

I'd feel hurt, but it's Constanze after all.

With my job basically done, and with the person next to me too busy with her work to care, I look for Amanda across the room. She's at the edge of the room, dangling her feet off the ledge.

As I approach her, I feel my steps instinctively slowing as I get closer, in fear of the fenceless part of the room. In contrast to Amanda, I find myself unable to get anywhere near the edge of this tower.

Before I can get myself to say what I want to say, a loud yawn interrupts me. "Someone's missing their sleep", Amanda remarks as she notices.

"Obviously", I reply. "I should've slept much earlier but I've been busy lately, and I'm sort of regretting it".

"Yeah? What've you been up to?".

"Nah it's… not something worth telling", I sigh.

I say nothing else, not wanting to further the current topic, but it seems Amanda doesn't even care if I do or not, as she continues watching the almost sunrise sky in silence.

Without her starting the conversation, I push myself to be the conversation starter. "anyway! What I've been up to doesn't matter much, there's this thing that I've been meaning to ask you for the longest time, see I was wondering whether you…".

I try to get closer to Amanda, but I find doing that to be impossible. Her place of sitting is too close to the edge for comfort. Pausing for a moment, I try to understand how she could sit there unfazed of the danger.

"…quite the idea of a quiet sitting place", I say.

"yeah", Amanda says, keeping her gaze still at the forest below the tower. "I like high places, don't you like high places?".

"I do, but I also hate falling", I answer. I really want to continue my point but the situation is too uncomfortable for me to ignore.

"Look, I don't want to be captain buzzkill but I don't think this place, especially the one you're sitting on, is safe at all".

Hearing my concern, Amanda scoffs and breaks her gaze away to look towards me. "What, you're scared?".

"Yes", I answer, as boldly and confident as a scared man could answer. It's not an irrational fear after all.

My previous plan of topic is beginning to loose its importance at the real problem that's present in front of me.

As expected however, Amanda pays no heed to my worries. "Come on, get yourself some little adrenaline, keeps you alive".

"Not falling off the ledge is what keeps me alive", I point out, almost sighing at her oblivious nature to danger.

Ignoring my worries, again, Amanda proceeds to lay herself to the floor, right next to the edge. "Ah… I'm so tired, guess I'm gonna have a little nap right here"

"Don't… please", I beg her, with a tremble in my voice that I realize.

Amanda rolls around, now having her back towards me as she nears ever closer to the edge. "Ah it's gonna be troublesome if I roll over in my sleep…. And fall…"

"Amanda, no"

"Or!", Amanda exclaims and she suddenly sits upright. "I could show you a headstand, I'll do it right here! I'm really good at it!"

"Wha- headstand?! You're not serious are you?"

With a toothy grin Amanda answers, "of course I'm serious, don't worry I wear shorts!".

"No, that's not the point you idiot!".

Without waiting for another one of my worries, Amanda plants both her hands to the floor very closely to the edge and prepares for a headstand.

Just before she lifts both her legs to the air, I grab her hand in pure horror and drag her across the floor and off the edge. "No, no not fine! Unsafe this is unsafe!" I cry.

"Whaaat why are you stopping me?"

"Why am I stopping you- are you crazy or stupid or both?!" I cry as I keep dragging her far off the edge.

"Chill out man!", Amanda says, she quickly gets on her own feet and takes my shaky hand off hers, "why are you so worried? You're not the one doing the headstand!"

"I- I! It still it creeps the hell out of me!" I cry out, really loudly that it echoes through the room.

The echo continues for a bit, silencing the both of us and even catching Constanze's attention. It's at that point that I realize my heart is beating like crazy and that Amanda is giving me a genuinely surprised look.

It was awkward, I'm speechless, Amanda is speechless, Stanbot is speechless, and even Constanze is speechless!

It takes another second before a smile appears on Amanda's lips, that stupid, stupid grin that could only mean one thing.

Thankfully a good distraction appears in a form of a pink haired girl finally appearing in the room.

"Finally climbed the stairs", Jasminka says. "Sorry for being late Constanze".

On behalf of its mistress, Stanbot runs up to Jasminka to retrieve the item she has. The robot raises both its hands as it awaits for Jasminka to hand the item to it. In its short stature, the robot is at the taller girl's mercy. Jasminka gives the item to the robot and sends it off with a wave as Stanbot races back to Constanze, it's metallic steps is the only thing audible in the room filled with awkward silence.

It took a second for Jasminka to notice our irregular quietness. "What's wrong?" she asks.

"Nothing!" I say loudly, trying to get the conversation elsewhere. "Oh, what's that you got in your hand Jasminka? is it something interesting let me see closer".

In an attempt to change the conversation, I leave the snickering Amanda and head towards Jasminka.

"It's just some parts that Constanze asked" Jasminka answers, a hint of confusion in her voice.

It takes a few moment of silence from her before she gives in to her confusion, "what's going on?"

"Nothing!" I answer. "We were just having-".

Before I can finish my lame lie, Amanda pops up beside me and cuts me off. "Jericho here is afraid of heights!", she shouts in delight.

Hoo boy there it goes.

Before I knew it, Amanda breaks to a fit of laughter.

"It's not fear of heights…" I begin. "It's fear of falling!".

Between her fit of laugher, Amanda struggles to get her words out. "Whatever you say man, whatever you say!".

Turning towards the dull glowing stone, I try to hide my reddening face from the both of them as I wish to ask a topic changing question. "Wh-what are we really doing here anyway? I was too sleepy to grasp what you asked me to do to be honest".

"Yeah you were pretty sleepy when we shoved you our request", Amanda agrees, chuckling fondly as if to a merry memory. "Anyway we, are going to rig the Sorcerer's Stone, or something".

"Am I… am I hearing this right?", I ask. I try to cut her off, but Amanda quickly holds a finger to delay my protest.

"No, no, let me finish first", Amanda continues, "we… well, it's Constanze mostly, are going to install some improvements to the thingys that connects the stone to the entire school, thingy".

"Improvements? What kinds of improvement?", I worriedly ask.

"I don't know the details, but Constanze here said that it'll ease her tech's capabilities tenfold!". Amanda declares, throwing her arms high for added effect, before pulling them down again as if she's reminded of another less exciting fact, "if it works…".

I stand there staring at the far from confident Amanda, flabbergasted at the whole situation I'm in.

"Remind me", I begin, jumbling over words as I try to contain my puzzlement, "remind me on how did I agree on all this".

Hearing my demand, Amanda laughs nervously and scratches the back of her head, "well… we sorta deliberately asked you for help after slamming onto your doors in the middle of the dark remember? We knew full well you'd still be sleepy to really grasp what's going on, that's why".

"oh great, yes that explains it", I say, cupping my hands to my face at the memory, "noo, I say things I didn't mean when just waking up".

"Yes!", Amanda agrees, "we gained your consent!".

"Not when I'm fully awake I'm not, no! This is stupid Amanda and I revoke my consent! What if you break the Stone with all these tampering?"

"Pfft!", Amanda laughs dismissively, "you can't break what's already broken my man".

"Alright one: the Sorcerer's Stone is not broken it's the cables, as far as I understand at least. And two: no, you can break something even further! Your needless tampering might make things worse, this is a bad idea I don't really like this".

"oh, you're chickening out?", Amanda asks with a challenging grin.

"I'm not chickening out! It's just… what if you mess up and something bad happens?", I murmur my worries quietly, genuinely worried of what kind of terrible accidents could happen.

As usual, unfortunately, my worries amount to exactly one pence for Amanda. "Stop being a worrywart, you're not an expert on this things, what's the worst that could happen?".

"You're one to talk! I won't be hearing that from someone like you"

I try to come up with ideas of what could happen, and try to sprinkle a spice of dramatizing it in the hopes that it will at least strike a worry in Amanda's worry-free heart. "What if… I don't know… the Stone explodes? That could happen".

"Pfft! The stone explodes?", Amanda gleefully remarks. "Get a load of this guy Constanze!".

"L-look I'm not that smart about this kind of things but I'm serious! Who are you to know for sure it won't explode?".

I think I noticed Constanze raising a finger to intervene, maybe to back up my worries or support otherwise, but Amanda's quick attempts at dismissing my worries gave Constanze little chance to join in on the debate (as if she had any chance in the first place to be honest). "Hah!", Amanda laughs, "I'm not dumb enough to know that a Sorcerer's Stone can't explode!".

"Or maybe you're dumb enough to not know that the Sorcerer's Stone can explode! Fine if you don't agree on that, but what if… what if… the cables just sort of went crazy and sets the schools on fire?"

"That won't happen, what are the fire brigade for?".

"Oh yeah, that's one of your famed flawless logic. Dammit Amanda don't you realize how dangerous this could be?".

"Hah! Danger is my middle name my man".

"I thought it's O'", I hear Jasminka say behind me.

"Just chill man, you don't know anything about this stuff anyway", Amanda says.

"The fact that I don't know anything about this stuff is exactly why I'm worried!"

We continue bickering for what felt like hours, until a loud hum echoes beside us followed by slight but perceivable shaking of the floor beneath us. We both turn just in time to witness the previously dull glowing Stone now glowing brightly in the early morning, lighting the room with its green glow that's so powerful that it shines through outside.

Another new thing we noticed was the line of cable wrapped around the stone's pedestal, flowing down to where Constanze was sitting, but we didn't find the little witch there, only a medium sized machine, with pumping engines and exhausts pumping smoke. Attached on top of it, glass containers vibrate as green and glowy liquid begins to pour onto it.

Before the three us could really grasp what's going on, the humming immediately stops and a loud deafening sound rings throughout the whole school, perhaps even further. The humming sound is now gone, so too does the glow and the small quake, everything reverts back to i's original state as quickly as it came, and everything returns back to normal.

The smoke slowly disperses, revealing the room fully again.

"What", was the only thing me and Amanda can muster to say, as we both gaze endlessly to the now dull glowing Stone.

Without us knowing it, Constanze is already behind us, resting her hands on her hips as she triumphantly takes off her tinkering goggles. The little witch walks past between us and arrives at her machine. She reaches for the glass container and unscrews it from the machine. Turning around, we see her cradling the object on her hands. The previously nearly empty glass container is now fully filled with a thick, glowy green liquid.

The silence persists for one full minute, until Jasminka breaks it. "so cool"

"Booyah!", Amanda cheers, throwing both her arms in the air. "told ya it will work!".

Amanda quickly throws all her shock and awe away to the air as she walks around and share a high-five with all of us, both Constanze and Jasminka take the high-five enthusiastically, even Stanbot gets a high-five. All got high-fives except the still awe-frozen me as, with my hand not budging, Amanda gives me a hard slap on my back.

"Early morning drinks on me!", Amanda cheers, and the three of them happily exit the room and head down the stairs, their cheers and laughs still echo as I'm left here.

On their way down the stairs, I hear Amanda call out. "Oh, and pack up the things for us will ya?! Thanks!"

And just like that, they continue their celebration down towards to the most definitely still closed cafeteria.

A loud clank snaps me out, something from Constanze's machine falls down and rolls on the floor until it hits my shoe to a stop.

I stare at it, contemplating at what really just happened and trying to figure out what it is. It's a gear of some sort, probably loosened at the violent shaking the Sorcerer's Stone and the machine produced a mere minute ago.

Another loud clank appears, followed by another, another, and another, and before I could even lift my head to see whatever caused it, a sea of mechanical parts roll across the floor, they're too many to count and some of them hits my shoe, splitting beneath my feet like water. It all comes to a stop and I don't even need to look up to know where they come from.

"Clean up for us, heheh", I let a chuckle escape.

Of course, I should clean all this up. Else a teacher might find out about all this, that won't be nice at all, that's the worst. I couldn't imagine what would happen to me if a teacher were to find out about this, with only me at the scene.

I think of this, as I hear a new pair of footsteps sounding from the stairs.

* * *

The Headmistresses' room was ominous, the room's usual relatively warm and welcoming atmosphere is turned completely upside down with the mere presence of a soul devouring demon. A demon named Anne Finneran.

For most of the hour I'm inside, the chat with Miss Holbrooke was quite nice, she wasn't so hostile towards me, and I'm sure to say that she doesn't suspect me in the slightest to be the one at fault. But the mere moment Miss Finneran took step within the room, it's as if Archaeon the Everchosen himself has spread his chaotic mutations across the Old World's very soils.

"Clearly Miranda, he should be punished for this!"

"Now now Anne. I'm as eager as you when it comes to correcting our student's mistake, but I believe Mr Franklin is not guilty".

"he was in the scene! Right on top of all those mess he made!"

"Doesn't guarantee that he was the culprit, for all we know he just so happens to be there at the wrong place at the wrong time".

Miss Holbrooke looks to me. "Aren't you?"

I fumble over my words. "Why y-yes, I did just stumble there, unknowingly. Miss"

Miss Finneran looks clearly bitter with the Headmistress's apparent support to me. She throws a sharp look towards me. "Still, he could be hiding something".

Miss Holbrooke's eyebrows rise. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe he was indeed not guilty, but was associated with others who are".

Oh crappa dooda doo.

Miss Finnelan won't let her gaze falter, with each second of her menacing gaze I could feel more and more sweat on me.

"Maybe he's not fit to be punished, but someone else is". Miss Finneran says, as flame begins to spout out of her mouth.

"Is that true, Jericho?". Miss Holbrooke asks worriedly.

I fumble my fingers as I try to find whatever words I could throw to convince them that I was completely alone. "I! I wasn't…. I was… I was alone! I was just there doing my early morning walk and I heard… things, from the top of the tower and I thought why not check it out am I right? It could be a burglar, a burglar!"

I pull my collar and let out a nervous chuckle. The foul ash that follows the demon's fiery breath makes it hard to breath and begins to fill my lungs with its incapacitating dust.

"Do you now?", Miss Finneran asks, black wings begins to grow out of her back with a sickening bone crunching noise. "And what did you find when you arrived?"

"Nothing! Just those pile o' junks and hijinks, hahah".

There's a very uncomfortable silence after my answer, it was quiet and definitely ominous, the silence makes it even much easier for me to hear the endless cries of countless hapless souls that the demon has consumed throughout her lifetime. The demon doesn't let her fiery gaze falter. Her analysing gaze is so tormenting, it burns into my vision and I swear I could see the 7th depth of hell right there in her eyes. It's as if I'm having a staring contest with the bloody Eye of Sauron himself, an eye that literally has no bloody lids.

"I see", the Demon says, as burning lava begins to spread across the floor from her gaping maw. "so you're sure you didn't see the culprit at all?".

The whole room begins to shake, and I could swear Miss Finneran is doubling in size with each passing seconds. Her voice has completely left its human touch and is now a mixture of a million tormented souls screaming from the oblivion in unison.

"Oh absolutely", I answer.

Another uncomfortable silence follows, an uncomfortable and tormenting silence. The demon's tormenting gaze has made me unaware that the landscape around us has completely changed. Fire now reigns supreme in the room, and a sinister volcano has risen from the very grounds, supporting the demon higher and higher to its absolute supremacy. Our difference in our height is now insurmountable as the demon glowers down on me like a worm. The air is so thick with poison and ash that I could barely breathe, it's close to living in the 2033 of Metro surface. I could only wonder how Miss Holbrooke manages to breathe so easily without any gas mask. Her expression is worried at best.

The lava is now knee-high, and I could feel my legs melting more and more.

Not like this.

It was after another burning millennia do Miss Finneran's expression suddenly softens slightly. "Very well".

Miss Finneran turns to the Headmistress, "unfortunately he's not guilty. This is most troubling, someone tempering with the Sorcerer's Stone and we have no clue of who did that".

Miss Finneran lets out quite the sigh and shakes her head, "just imagine the dangers they could inflict on the stone, and the school. Who knows the Sorcerer Stone could overcharge due to the tampering and blow the whole school up?"

I snap a finger to that awesome statement, a gesture that caught Miss Finneran's glare once again.

Quickly reminded of my place in the food chain, I revert back to my earlier, humbled self.

"Indeed, we must quickly figure out who did that and punish them accordingly!" Miss Holbrooke wholeheartedly agrees.

I'm sure the Headmistress was so lenient with me only because she knew I wasn't guilty. But the second she figures out who really did the damage, that leniency will surely be gone.

That reminds me, Miss Finneran somehow dropped her suspicion on me quite quickly, I didn't expect that. Maybe it's my speech skills rising.

What can I say? I'm quite smooth with my words I rarely st- stammer.

The rush of adrenaline from the recent interrogation has left me quite blank. With me out of the main spotlight, the whole room and flow of conversation becomes blurry and I fail quite catch all the words the two are saying, but what I'm still sure is that I'm out of the trouble and is safe outside of suspicion.

But that false safety was soon shattered like one of Wang's cheap Chinas when I hear my name suddenly spoken.

"Sorry? I didn't hear".

Miss Finneran crosses her arms. "We were asking you, what exactly are you doing out at that hour?"

"I answered didn't I? I was out for my morning walk! Isometric exercise, I was stretching my calves!"

Miss Finneran raises an eyebrow. "At four in the morning?".

It doesn't matter what methods I try to deflect that accusation, because I myself have no idea at what time the whole tinkering the Sorcerer's Stone ordeal happened. When I said I was out for a morning walk, I presumed that it was already close to morning, and far out of the curfew.

"Curfew?" I whisper timidly.

Before the hell spawn can cherish in my own realization of my mistakes, Miss Holbrooke says, "Unfortunately, you're out at the wrong time. You were aware of this, no?"

Yes. Tell her yes, Jericho. No more lies could save you now!

"No, no I'm afraid not!" I answer nervously. "In fact I was wondering what that word meant, curfew. I don't think I know what it means in my native language, So I head to the library to find a dictionary!"

"The library's closed at four in the morning, Mr Franklin". Miss Holbrooke informs.

There was an uncomfortable silence in the room, the milk was all but spilled and my charm rolls were absolutely not 20. Still in silence, the Headmistress looks towards Miss Finneran. There were no words spoken between them, but after a good while of, the younger of the two surprisingly shakes her head and smiles.

It was an expression I couldn't believe I saw. Could this be?

"Well then" Miss Finnelan nods. "Since you're not aware what the word 'curfew' meant, I suppose…"

Yes, yes, yes!

The professor takes a good while of pausing, as if this very next sentence is so rarely spoken by her that it inflicts so much difficulty in uttering them.

Miss Finneran sighs and says, "You can learn its meaning while you do your punishment duty, four hundred times of writing 'curfew' and its meaning".

Fucking.

* * *

The sky is beginning to red as I crawl out of the classroom, myself only it's inhabitant for the past 2 hours. My fingertips are exceptionally burning, bleached by the same chalk that I've used for writing thousands on the blackboard. My whole back aches, caused by prolonged standing and trying to reach the upper areas of the board. Legs, hands, and even eyes, they're all burning, especially the eyes. Caused by the chalk residues falling over to my eyes as I try to reach up and write. And every muscle in my body feels as if they're about to collapse at any moment.

I fight back the urge to write some extra words in the blackboard, a little parting gift for whoever discovers my work the next day. I was tired as all hells, and my mind isn't straight right now. But whatever resentment I have for the punishment, I still have enough surviving brain cells to know that doing so would mean more punishment for me.

It does sound easy, I thought it was. But I didn't expect this punishment to be so savage on my body.

I close the door behind me and lean on it, trying to rest myself as best as I could before later retiring to my chambers.

I was so tired that I failed to notice Miss Finneran's presence beside me.

"Well done", Miss Finneran says.

She opens the door slightly to check on my work. "Your writing is surprisingly terrible, but it checks out".

"Now", Miss Finneran says. "I hope you learn your mistake, and what curfew means"

I say nothing and just stare at her. The exhaustion proves that it's impossible to make half-witty remarks at this point. Maybe if I stay unmoving she'll just go away.

It takes a good minute before she finally stops bugging me and leaves me for good. With her prey out of the menu, the demon continues on to find a fresher meat. The demon stalks down the hallways, her legs shakes the very foundation of the building and dust begins to fall from the ceilings. Fire and wanton death were left in its quake, before a bright fiery portal suddenly rips in the air in which she slinks into and vanishes from this very realm, gone to whence she came to torture god knows what poor soul she has in mind.

I expected relieve to quickly greet me, but the exhaustion completely negates any sort of relieve I should've felt when that demon leaves my proximity.

No matter, what matters is that everything's done. There's nothing else for me here, so I turn on my heels and head down the hallway, to the place where I will sleep for two days straight.

Before walking far however, I find my footsteps shadowed as I walk. Turning around, I found Michelle walking up to me.

"You look like a mess", she frowns.

I turn away. "I was just doing something".

Michelle sighs as she hears my attempt to lie. "I know what happened".

She walks ahead of me without saying another word. Reluctantly, I try to force my tired legs to catch up to her speed.

The exhaustion makes it hard to think right, and right now I just want to have this all over with. I'm irritated, even, that Michelle wants to talk at such a bad time.

But something still holds me back, something inside me is conscious enough to just wait and listen to what Michelle has to say.

When I finally catch up to her, I expected her to start saying what's on her mind quickly. But something keeps her from doing so. She's silenced, and doesn't even throw a gaze towards me. She just stares down to where we're headed in silence.

It's an odd situation, right now I should be the one feeling upset and everything. But something makes me rethink that I'm not the one that deserves to be upset right now.

It took a good moment of silent walking for Michelle to finally speak up. "You shouldn't have done that".

I turn to Michelle, but she keeps her eyes away from me. "Didn't you remember those terms that the Headmistress gave us on the message we received?"

I know what she's referring, one of the many terms of me enrolling in this school, how since I was here by Michelle's plea, she's one to be responsible for any of my mistakes.

"Yeah, yeah I do", I mutter. "Michelle it was just a stupid curfew".

Michelle stops to a halt, and for the first time since our long walk, she looks to me directly in the eyes. "Look, Jericho", she begins. "The Headmistress is a very, very nice woman, one that I look up to and respect. She's the only reason the both of us are here and I appreciate that every day".

"Michelle" I begin. "I didn't do anything it was just a curfew, a stupid curfew that I'd forgotten. If you're there you'd know that I didn't even do anything wrong, I wasn't even out there by my own will!"

"Which is exactly why I'm upset!", Michelle suddenly says. "You're only in this trouble because of your friends".

She pauses briefly, breathing deeply before continuing her point. "I don't want a good kid like you being dragged to troublesome situations just because of your friends, troublesome situations that could get you out of this school no less".

Michelle stops, letting her words sink into me and waits for my response.

Despite her not saying it, I'm sure I got the right idea of what she's meaning to tell me. Yet it's hard for me to accept that she's trying to tell me that.

Holding back a sigh, I say, "You mean, you want me to…".

"I don't want you to do anything", Michelle cuts. "I won't forever be by your side, Jericho. You have to decide this kind of things yourself".

In spite of my perfect understanding, I still have the overwhelming urge to ask her what she really meant. It's a far-fetched hope, but I'm sort of hoping she's meaning something else.

Anxious, I ask. "Decide what?"

Michelle takes a moment before answering, herself conflicted with what she wants me to hear. She shrugs, "Your choice of friends"

Her message was expected, but it didn't reduce the impact in the slightest. I try to give her an answer, anything, a response of some sort. But none could escape my mouth. My eyes dart around, myself unable to look straight at the upset Michelle.

Noticing my indecision, Michelle sighs and places her hands on my shoulders. Her expression softens with understanding. "Look, I know I sound mean right now, but that's because how important this is and that I was once in your shoes".

Michelle's voice trails off. For a moment I thought she's about to elaborate on the matter, but she quickly dismisses the thought. "Just… think about it, okay?"

She ruffles my hair and leaves me be. Walking down the hallway, opposite of where I'll go.

The golden light of the afternoon has spilled into the now empty hallways. I turn around and continue my way to my room, bringing with me a new weighty thought along the way.

* * *

The sound of a closed door echoes through the dark room. I feel my way through the walls until I find the switch and flip in on. The light flickers weakly, and soon it produces a weak glow. Quickly reminding of the current state of the Sorcerer's Stone.

I sluggishly step further inside, and is quickly greeted with a familiar bubbling noise.

"Hey, Francis", I sigh. "Sorry buddy".

I slump down on my chair and look towards the goldfish. Francis swims merrily inside, as if all the wrongs in the world are non-existent and all that matters is that he's happy.

I smile. "You're too happy, you know that?"

The fish bubbles happily in agreement.

I rest myself on my desk, staring out the window towards the red golden sky.

The busy classes and the punishment I received has distracted me from the real problems, but now that I'm alone, I find them coming back to visit me.

Amanda, Constanze, and Jasminka are all great, I'll admit that. I know they're not 100% nice to me all the time, but I know they're my friends. But I'll have to admit too, that they're a bad influence as students.

Let's face it, they're a group of troublemakers and rebels, one of them doesn't really want to be in this school, another always gets in trouble for her work, and another just follows her two friends to whatever trouble they got into. Hardly a group you want to be influenced with.

I just wish they'd stop being such a handful to the teachers, I hope my martyrdom today will convince them to do so. I just hope they do.

I just wish Miss Finneran is satisfied with my punishment. After all I went through today, I hope she'll have lost interest in finding the real troublemakers. I don't want Michelle to be proven right with Miss Finneran figuring out that my group of friends are indeed what caused me all my troubles today.

Ah, speaking of bad influences, there's still another group, the red team. Oh where should I start?

The universe itself, apparently, doesn't want me to start, as the lights quickly flickers and the weak light it recently gave quickly diminishes into nothing. The whole room has gone dark, safe for a small beam of light from the open window.

Damn you universe, you've been added to the list.

Is the electricity out? Are the water pumps still on? Did the construction team did something that disturbs the Sorcerer's Stone? Or the more troubling question: was it Constanze's tampering that did this?

A distressed bubbling pulls me out of my thoughts.

"I know, Francis, I know".

I cannot hope to imagine how many rules Constanze had broken in her brief time up the main tower, and the countless circumstances that will follow that dwarf those broken rules. What I can imagine however, is the severity of the punishment that she and her friends will receive.

I push myself off the desk, gathering my remaining strength to stand up. Despite my current state, my exhaustion fails to dull my worries, and I prepare to leave the comfort of my room with the intention to find out the cause of this mysterious blackout. Hoping to find that the answer I'll find won't prove Michelle to be right.

Francis bubbles as he notices my departure.

"Yeah. Let's just hope she's wrong".

I head outside to confirm what exactly caused the blackout, silently praying that Constanze is not at fault.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: There's not a lot going on in this chapter, but that's because it's a build up for the next one. Stick around to the next episode to find out what all this builds up to!**

 **Sorry again for the long absence, but I'm now back bigger, better, stronger.**


	20. Luna Nova and the White Dragon

**Author's Notes: Welcome back friends, I hope you enjoy the newest chapter of America's favourite fanfic. Sorry for the long absence, been busy with irl happenings and recently sick, but I'm back stronger than ever! The revise chapters are going strong, going for the 9th chapter now so hurrah. I wish I can finish them all soon so lift your hands up people and share me your energies, the spirit bomb needs them.**

 **Now I'm not gonna waste too much of your time with this Author's Notes, so go out there and read my children, read!**

 **Don't be afraid to review as always!**

* * *

The moon has long replaced the sun, reminding me of how a simple act of trying to find out what caused the blackout has lead me down into a rabbit hole of manual tasks and labours.

I've been waiting for a certain blonde for a while now. The wait was long and my exhaustion was worthy of an epic that I decided to sit in the middle of the hallway. Something that I won't dare do under normal circumstances, but with the powers out and all the teachers too busy with their things, I allow myself a little bit of anarchy.

I hear light footsteps coming, out of a room comes Diana, a notebook in her hand. "That's the cleaning group assigned".

Diana was assigned, naturally, to help the teachers by assigning work groups among the students. Power's completely out, for the most unbelievable reason, and it's crucial for the teachers to maintain their power and legitimacy over the confused and distressed students before they revert back to the natural state of savage animals.

For now, with the fairies out of the option, it's up to the students to get out their way and do their own chores for once in a while.

My eyes fall onto a petrified, or hibernating, goblin laying on the floor not far next to me. The goblin has his tiny hands wrap over his tiny legs, folding like an egg of some sort. The petrified goblin sucks on his petrified thumb as he snoozes away like the baby that he is.

Diana flips through a page from her notebook, lifting my attention towards her again. "We're done now, but I suggest we go check out the laundry group, there's another assignment I have for them and I honestly find it hard to trust those girls".

"Yeah", I remark with a yawn. "Thankfully, most of the students work has gone as smooth as a baby".

The sound of paper almost being torn echoes through the silent and dark corridor, Diana looks down to me with wide eyes and a slightly hanging jaw.

I raise my eyebrows. "What?"

Diana blinks a few times. A rare sight, as she seems to lose some coordination of her words for a brief second.

Diana finally shakes her head and says. "Nevermind…"

Diana returns her attention to the small notebook on her hand, flips through some pages, stops, and traces her hand on the paper. She clears her throat and continues. "As I was saying, we should check out the laundry team, I need to make sure they're on schedule".

As Diana was about to leave, I stand up and ask. "You're really okay with all this, huh?"

Diana looks up from her notebook. "How do you mean?"

"A dragon, again, can you believe that? That's twice within the span of months, yet you're not even fazed by that fact".

Diana briefly pauses before she closes her notebook and gives me her full attention. "I honestly am, but as the Headmistress asked of us, we as students are not to talk about it. The last thing the school needs is the students being panicked. Also, you're not doing that different from me too".

"Oh, me?" I repeat and point a finger to myself. "No, my indifference is just because of my disbelief in this whole thing, honestly. Sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo the teachers made up".

Diana raises an eyebrow, expecting me to go on.

I just shrug the question off. I'm not going to tell her that there's a high probability that the teachers tried to cover up the Sorcerer's Stone's malfunction that's caused by unauthorized tampering by a group of students!

"Nope, you're right. It verily must be a dragon!"

Not wanting Diana to linger on the topic further, I walk past Diana and towards direction of our next destination. "Come on, I don't want my date with my bed to be delayed".

There's some amount of distance I gained from Diana until she breaks her silence. "You're going the wrong way".

* * *

I follow Diana through the winding stairways that leads to the lower levels of the school, a place where I'm not well acquainted with, forcing me no moment of leisure in walking in order to catch up with my only guide in this place.

The place we're heading is the laundry room. Fairies usually do their work there, but circumstances have forced some unfortunate group of students to roll up their sleeves and do the dirty work for once. Though so far in our journey, I fail to see why Diana would revisit this place if, as she mentioned, the laundry group has already assigned.

We descend down the last flight of stairs and as we do, loud talking, shouting even, begins to greet our ears. The familiar loud voice that belongs to Akko easily echoes through the thick stone-walled rooms, the echo chamber manages to amplify the girl's already impressive decibels. I can't really make her words out, but it's something along the lines of 'I'm Akko and I want this to happen despite it's clearly and explicitly out of my grasp of capabilities'.

Yep, sounds about right.

Now I realize exactly why Diana wants to check on the laundry group.

Diana suddenly stops her descend to listen. It could be caused by my exhaustion, but apparently Diana has better hearing compared to mine, as she immediately picks up on what the Nipponese witch was ranting about.

It takes more steps down the stairs for me to finally pick up on Akko's exact words.

"Damn you, dragons! You've been quiet for 100 years, yet you have to steal from us while we're here! That can't be forgiven! We have to get the stone back!"

Akko knew about the dragon? You'd thought that someone like her would be the last to know about this.

I look towards Diana for any wisdom in the matter, but she keeps her gaze forward, contemplating on the girl's words herself. Diana says nothing and now continues her descent to approaches the girls below, while I do the right thing and wait by the stairs concealed from the group.

"Don't do it", Diana says, announcing her arrival and turning all heads towards her. "The only thing you're supposed to do here is this laundry. You should refrain from doing anything stupid".

"What are you doing here?" Ask a new voice, one that surprises me when I recognize it came from Amanda.

Still hidden, I peak down the stairs. And sure enough, the red head witch is there beside Akko. All the more reasons for Diana to come here and check on the group I suppose.

Akko furrows her brows and steps closer towards Diana. "Diana, this will affect you, too! Without the Sorcerer's Stone, we can't have class and we won't be able to use magic!"

"But you are no match for those dragons", Diana calmly interrupts. "You can't even keep up with the classes as it is. Your meddling will only fuel the problem".

Akko was already defeated even before the war started, the facts are there and there's no denying it. But the lesser witch's defeat doesn't dissuade Diana from stating what's on her mind. With a stern and scolding tone, the blonde continues. "You always act before you think. You should realize that you always involve others and bring them only trouble. If you continue like this, even your friends will get tired of you".

Amanda seems to take pity on Akko and cuts Diana off. "Hey, it's none of your business. Stay out of it!"

Diana turns her attention towards Amanda. "You too, you're always goofing around. Just because you don't have a purpose, you shouldn't bother others. If you get yourself in trouble, it's not just you that will be punished, do you understand that?"

It seems like the two have multitudes to say to Diana, but the blonde spares no more time with them any longer. Diana turns and begins walking to the direction of the stairs. Without turning back, she says. "And the professor asked you to draw the water, don't forget to do that".

Diana notices me on her way up the stairs. Without stopping, she walks past me and says. "We should go, there's no more reason for us to be here".

"I- I'll wait here", I reply. "Our job is done anyway".

Diana stops her climb and turns. After a brief pause, she nods. "Very well"

Without waiting any longer, Diana finishes her climb and leaves me.

I step down the ladder just in time to see something unexpected. I'd expected that after such bombardment they received from Diana, Akko and Amanda would be discouraged to continue their fool's quest. But instead, I see the both of them grinning at each other with determined glow in their eyes. It appears that I've walked in on the birth of an unholy alliance.

As I finish the final step, I say. "Don't do what I think you're about to do".

At that time, I finally see everyone who Diana assigned to work on the laundry, the entirety of the green and red team. All of them had had their work stopped, probably from Diana's interruption.

They all turn their heads towards me but Akko was the first to speak up. I'm not sure why, but she's immediately shocked at my sudden appearance. "Y-You!"

Amanda, too enthusiastic of my arrival, quickly cuts Akko off. "Yes! Another foot soldier to the cause!"

Akko turns to the redhead and blurts. "Wait what? He's coming too?!"

Amanda wastes no moment to reply her friend's question. She's too preoccupied with preparing to leave her laundry behind for the dragon. "We'll have more chance at succeeding with you around. You can't fly a broom, but I bet someone can give you a ride.

Amanda scans the room. Her gaze falls onto a certain pale witch, who, without waiting for any explanation, responds. "I'd drop him off a cliff"

Amanda turns to me. "Maybe someone else then"

I say nothing as I study Amanda. She shows no hint of joking or hesitation, which worries me more and more. I ask her. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

Akko walks up beside Amanda. "Of course we are!"

A grin appears on Amanda's lips. "We're not going to back down after what she said".

The two girls looks to the silenced me expectantly, as if waiting for my approval of all this. But the silence from me isn't one made of thoughtfulness, but it's one out of disbelieve that these two would think I find wisdom in their ridiculous idea.

Seeing no sign of the two backing down, I say with disbelieve. "Are you two born idiots, or did you develop it?"

Different from the instantly triggered Akko, Amanda easily recognizes this attitude of mine. Before Akko could escalate into a fit, Amanda slings her arms around me and whispers. "Just think of it, all the praises we'd get if we make it, all the praises _you_ will receive".

It's impressive that after we know each other for so long, she thinks that something like that would distract me from the real risks.

I push her arm off my shoulders. "This is dangerous and it's not me exaggerating it. This time you're properly mad if you actually plan on doing this".

Amanda chuckles, as if all I said fuelled a challenge for her. "Mad is my middle name".

I raise my brows. "Is it? It's funny. I thought you said it was 'Danger' earlier this morning. You know, when we were…"

My words trail off as I'm reminded of something. Ignoring Amanda, I look past her towards a series of rumbling washing machines on the back of the room. I push past Amanda and approach the machines, upon arriving, I waste no time and immediately search its back. Without requiring a long moment of searching, I finally found what I'm looking for. It's at this time that Constanze begins to suspect my intentions.

I reach deep into the machine's back and Constanze immediately knows my intentions. She tries to rush towards me but was too late. A thick vial containing a familiarly green fluid is now in my hand. And just as I plugged it out, the machine begins to lose its speed, slowly going quieter and quieter until any sound and movement becomes completely absent.

"I can't believe it, this is the thing this morning!".

Constanze couldn't say a word but her pained expression speaks volumes The short witch desperately tries to snatch the vial away from my hands, but I easily hold it up out of her reach. She jumps up and down desperately, showing no sign of giving up despite the clear impossibility.

"Hey stop it!" Amanda cries. "What's the matter with you?"

"What's the matter with me? Do you have any idea how dangerous this thing is?"

I lift the vial higher away from Constanze, forcing me to pause for a moment. "You could help the school by returning this to them and you decided to use this to wash the laundry?"

Amanda flinches at my response, she loses her words and fails to come up with a response.

Confused, Akko frowns and turns to the redhead. "Amanda, what's he talking about?"

Amanda grits her teeth and shows no sign of answering the question. Seeing this, I took the liberty of answering that question myself. I hold up the vial for all to see. "You see this thing? This little devil right here thought it's a great idea to siphon some magic directly from the Sorcerer's Stone".

Lotte covers her mouth with her hands and gasps. "You girls did what?"

Amanda ignores Lotte's question and quickly rushes towards me. She violently snatches the vial from my hands and glares at me. "What is wrong with you?"

"That thing is dangerous, Amanda. You could be expelled if the teachers finds out about it"

"That's none of your business"

"That's your friends' business. You're not the only one that's being risked here".

My eyes find Jasminka who stands at the back of the room and has said nothing from the beginning. As our eyes meet, the girl averts hers and looks away.

"And what if you and Constanze got expelled? You think the teachers aren't going to do the same thing to Jasminka?"

Amanda, teeth bared and fist clenched, keeps glaring at me. I say nothing to her then, not out of a loss of words, but out of her stubbornness.

I start again. "You just got saved this morning, back when you ran off out of the scene and the teachers found me instead. I thought that after you're saved from being expelled you'd at least try to not get in any more trouble. Turns out, the first thing you did that was getting into another trouble, picking a fight with Akko out of all things. But even that wasn't enough for you is it?"

Amanda breaks away from me and shoves the vial back to Constanze who quickly takes it and holds it securely away from me. Amanda keeps her back turned towards me and says nothing.

There was a brief silence in the room, only broken when I shake my head and sigh. "You know, I'm sort of starting to think you're doing all this on purpose".

All eyes follow me as I walk past the quietened group and towards the exit. Out of all of them, I could only bear myself to look towards Jasminka. I expect her to say at least one thing, but all she did was staying silent and refusing to look to me until just the last moment before I leave.

By the time I'm back at the corridor, Diana had already left long ago. With quiet, I begin walking down the long, lonely corridor.

* * *

I wait in front of the door that leads inside the teachers' office. While I wait, I let my mind wander off to what just recently happened.

A dragon, how absurd that they thought they'll go on such a pointless mission. I did nothing wrong in stopping them and no one can tell me otherwise. Despite me wanting to prove Michelle wrong, so far her words has perfectly described the reality.

They went overboard today, and that was still not enough for them. Amanda didn't strike a surprise to me, but it was Constanze who did. Just the span of hours ago I'd thought that she's only in these troubles because of Amanda, but the events earlier confirms that she too has a wayward and dangerous tendency if left alone. It's Jasminka I worry about the most, she's one who actually listens to me that time. And I do worry that she's only following them because they're her friends.

But really, the real problem is how they seem to just want to get into trouble! They just barely escaped the one earlier in the morning and next thing Amanda does is picking a fight with Akko in class, and now this? Unauthorized dragon hunting?! They need a permit for that I bet.

My thought goes interrupted as I realize how long the wait is. There's not a sound that stirs inside, it's as if whoever teacher inside are ignoring me. But as I trace my mind back a few paces, I realize that I hadn't knocked on the door in the first place. Soggy biscuits, I blame my sleep deprivation and exhaustion.

However, knocking on the door made little difference whatsoever. It was dark and abandoned when I peer inside from a narrow window, and not a sound stirs within. It was quite the walk from the laundry room towards here. I went here in an effort to find Michelle, but now I mentally slap myself across the face at how fruitless this endeavour has been so far. At this point, I'm not even amazed by how terrible my luck has been today that I don't even feel the pain anymore. Numbed, my senses have numbed and made obsolete so I don't mind another stroke of bad luck in this day filled with series of uncomfortable events.

A sound from the far side of the hallway interrupts my yawn. Far away, a door opens and out comes a trio of students, all doing their appointed tasks, carrying stacks of neatly folded clothes and disappear into the horizon as they went on to distribute it.

God has denied me of even the simplest pleasure of yawning, conniptions were given instead. I start walking down the hallway again, thinking why the hell I didn't just go straight to my room and hibernate for a whole week. As I was about to give up, however, the door in front of me opens and out comes a Cavendish. She came out of the Headmistress's office, carrying an oversized and aged scroll. My mood is sort of lifted at the sight of Diana, but completely shattered in mere nanoseconds at the sight of what follows behind her.

Miss Finnelan hastily steps out of the room, a rare expression of panic stricken her face. "We must go quickly, there's no time to waste, we need to catch up with the Headmistress".

Diana, unaware of my presence, casts her head downwards thoughtfully. "Brooms are out of the question, and walking there will take a hefty amount of time and energy, electricity are out so modern transportations are unavailable too".

Miss Finnelan stops in front of Diana, she too, is unaware of my presence. "Then what do you propose?"

Diana looks up to the professor momentarily, before averting her gaze as she ponders more alternatives. Miss Finnelan waits patiently for the witch's suggestion, one that I doubt will ever arrive. Cutting through the thoughtful silence of the two, I finally raise my voice and declare my existence. "I think I know a way".

The two of them turns, seemingly startled at my unannounced presence. Diana quickly hides the scroll behind her back, but soon eases up as she realizes it's just me.

I never knew I've mastered the invisibility spell.

Miss Finnelan quickly collectts herself and straightens her back. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I think I know the way". I repeat. "You two wanted to go somewhere right? Somewhere far away yet there's no magic in the air tonight, so…"

My words trail of as I notice the two of them staring at me intently. Gathering myself, I try to make an excuse. "L- look, I wasn't eavesdropping or anything-".

The two exclaims. "Just get on with it".

* * *

The forest was quiet. Not a soul stirs and no misdeeds were done. Peace and serenity is what fills the forest, and it is what it is. Until bright light shines past the trees and a roar of engine savagely cuts through the silence, killing and butchering it as more sounds begins to follow. The flap of wings and rustle of leaves begins to appear as the inhabitants of the forest scrambles at the intruder.

A yellow taxi exits the forest edge, gaining impressive air before landing onto a grassy field. The taxi drifts uncontrollably for a moment before it recovers from its momentum and continues on a straight path towards a dirt road laid ahead. As the taxi rocks sideways, Miss Finnelan tightens her grip on the seat. "Good god!"

Rahjaesh briefly glances to the professor. "Sorry, ma'am!"

Diana, equally alarmed by the driving but less expressive than the professor, pushes herself from her seatbelt and leans towards me to whisper. "Is this normal?"

I raise a hand, telling Diana to hold the thought for a moment. Turning the large map in my hand, I try to get a clear reading of where we are and direct Rahjaesh's next turn. "In about 100 metres, take a left, Rahjaesh".

Rahjaesh looks to me from the rear view mirror and nods. "Yes, mister!"

With my guiding complete for now, I turn to Diana. "Sorry?"

Diana's eyes widen as she notices how calm I am. Raising her voice to a half-whisper, she repeats. "I said, is this normal?"

I tilt my head at the question. "You're the one who's from UK, you tell me".

Still gripping tightly to the leather seat, Miss Finnelan looks to the backseat and interrupts our little meeting. "Mr Franklin, I've lived in the UK far longer than anyone in this taxi has and I assure you I've never seen someone drive a taxi like this in my life!"

"There's a first for everything". I quietly mutter, to which I earn a glare from the professor.

"Look, Jericho", Diana says. "I appreciate the fact that he's taking us to the ruins as quickly as possible but we would greatly appreciate it if-".

Diana's words are cut off as a mean turn on the road forces Rahjaesh to turn the taxi sharply, Diana would've been thrown right towards me if she didn't catch the front seat in time.

"…Slow down!" Diana finishes with a raised voice and messed hair.

"Don't worry, miss!" Rahjaesh says. "We're not too far away from the ruins now".

"Then you'll have no problem slowing down, please", Diana politely asks.

Rahjaesh takes his eyes off the road for an alarmingly long time as he looks back towards Diana in slight puzzlement. He stays quiet for a moment as he gazes at the girl, it was after a couple more seconds does he shift his gaze towards me. As if waiting for an approval from a boss, the gnome looks to me expectantly.

I shrug to him. "You heard the lady".

Rahjaesh nods and finally (thank God) returns his attention to the road. A click and clack of the shifting gear later and the taxi slows down to comfortable speed. The roar of engine has been reduced to a tolerable level now, and I can no longer hear the forest dwellers' cries of mercy. Meanwhile, the two witches couldn't care less about hiding their relief. Sighing deeply, Miss Finnelan and Diana sinks back to their seats, the tense in their body begins to seep away.

Another turn later and we finally see the ruins in the distance. Resting nicely on a wide clearing in the middle of the forest is jagged formation of rubbles and rocks, all acting like ruins do; being random. There's no significant thing to note since it's literally just a pile of rocks. Or, that would be what I normally think if it wasn't for the fact that a dragon supposedly lives there.

Such an ominous place, I couldn't believe the girls actually thought of coming here.

The calmness in the taxi lets my mind drift for a moment, but Diana's voice pulls me back to reality. "Are you alright?" she asks.

"I'm already accustomed to this, I'm just tired, haven't slept in a while", I answer.

Diana shakes her head. "That's not what I meant".

I sigh. Taking a deep breath and look outside the window, I ask back. "How much did you hear?"

"Some" Diana answers. "I'd already expected them to not listen to me, so I thought to see how they react to you. On one hand I'm glad you and have the same idea, but on the other hand I feel sorry of how they treated yours".

Diana stops for a moment as she waits for my response. But she soon realizes there will be none, and so she looks ahead towards the ruins. Diana continues. "I'd be surprised if even after that, you still want to be around them. I know they're your friends, but you have to know when they've gone too far".

Diana pauses. She takes a glance at me. "Not the best choice of friends either".

I quietly scoff. "You're not the first one who's said that today. And also you're one to say, you don't exactly have the best choice of friends yourself, Diana".

"They're good girls", Diana replies. "Once you get to know them".

The taxi rolls down the clearing and slows to a stop at a good distance from the ruins. Rahjaesh rolls the windows down for us, and the three of us looks outside. The ruins itself is nothing impressive, a dozen or more of rocks and rubbles scattered across a wide-grassless opening in the forest, the usual trope for ruins. It's dark and deadly quiet out there and oddly enough, the fact that we're actually in front of a dragon's lair had just set in to me, and despite some bits of disbelieve still lingering in my heart, an anxious feeling begins to set on me.

I grip the seat tightly, anxious of what's to come.

The click of the door pulls my attention away. Upon turning to the front seat, I find Miss Finnelan stepping out of the taxi and begin to make her way towards the ruins. Alarmed, I shift glances back and forth between the professor and Rahjaesh. "Wait, she's not supposed to do that? She's- the place is dangerous!"

Trying to find the most reasonable person here, I look behind me in search of Diana but found her missing. The witch had already exited the taxi and is on her way catching up to the professor, giant scroll in her hand. Not keeping my eyes off the two, I shout. "What? What are they doing? Rahjaesh!"

The gnome turns to me, a look of equal confusion in his face. "Maybe I should've turned the child safety lock on, mister".

I keep looking towards the two witches again. Beads of sweat begin to run down my temple as I notice they show no sign of stopping. They've gained quite the distance from the taxi, and their figures begin to drown in the darkness of the night.

Hesitating and way beyond afraid, I rush out of the taxi. "Oh god, are we really doing this?!"

I start my run towards the two, desperately trying to bury my own hesitation and fear with hope that they have some mighty explanation for this outrage.

The dead silence of the forest doesn't help either. It was only the sound of my rushed breathing and the stomping of my shoes on the uneven rocks and dirt that fills my ears. A few distances later however, I hear a soft voice coming from the taxi.

"But who's going to pay…"

The inside of the ruins is no less haunting than the outsides. Uneven and aged cobblestones line the long, dark, and lonely stone corridors that seem to have no end. A pair of pale green light is our only source of light. I try to keep up with the two witches, the both of them strides forward and leading the way with confidence.

"Outrage, this is an outrage", I mutter under my breath.

The two witches suddenly stops to a halt and I hold a whimper at the sudden stop. Fearing that they've spotted something horrible, or that something has spotted us. I quickly look around, but the light only provides a small range of illumination, not enough to really see far. Diana and the professor doesn't even try to explain what caused their stop, which leads me to thinking they're just trying to mess with me.

Throwing an accusing look towards Diana, I say. "I swear to god, Diana, if there's a Balrog I won't be the one pulling a Gandalf here".

Something in the dark forces Diana to ignore my comment, turning around, she points with her wand and shouts. "Over there"

Before I could really register where she meant, Diana continues her march and leaves the professor and I behind. The latter more alarmed by her action than the former. Before I can react to her sudden departure and alarming statement, Miss Finnelan follows Diana, leaving me in the dark.

"Wait, don't leave me!" I cry.

I catch up to the professor and both of us saw what Diana has spotted. A towering double door sits at the end of the massive corridor. Different from the rest of the objects in this ruins, this door seems to be well-kept and in good conditions, with no good signs that it belongs in someplace like a ruins.

The doors were open, and we could see some light coming from inside, basking the dark and massive corridor in light.

"Good work, Diana", Miss Finnelan says, and she quickly walks up to Diana.

As the two of us near Diana and the door, I begin to hear distant voices coming from inside the open door. Curiosity begins to grow inside me, almost overcoming my overwhelming alert of my surroundings. The three of us walks towards the towering door and stops at its foot, and beyond us, a figure more impressive than the door comes into view.

A massive white dragon, larger than the one that attacked our school, stands at the end of the room. The details of its body are hidden by the backlight from behind him, but even then, I could see that it's staring down on us.

I instinctively reach for my wand, but stumble and fail to pull it out as my hands tremble with fear.

Diana turns to me and grabs me by my hand. She tilts her head to somewhere inside the room, as I follow her direction, I realize we're not the only ones in this room. The sight of the great beast has distracted me from the familiar sight of Miss Holbrooke who stands not far away from us accompanied by a couple of teachers.

"Miss Holbrooke?" I exclaim.

The Headmistress quickly turns to the three of us. "Finnelan, and Diana!"

I wait for my name to be equally exclaimed, but Miss Holbrook doesn't bother, her attention is fully caught on the scroll on Diana's hands.

My invisibility spell is on again!

"Diana, what is going on?" I ask.

Diana doesn't answer the question, she's too captivated by another sight. As I follow her gaze, I find what might be more alarming than the dragon itself. The entirety of red and green team is here in this room, not entirely fazed at their own horrifying close proximity with the white dragon.

The bizarreness has taken its limit, I can no longer make intelligible words, only weird facial expressions and stutters.

The white dragon shifts on its place to face us, shaking the ground as it does.

"Oh, another?" The dragon suddenly speaks, its voice was loud and as a strong gust of wind, it echoes through the room endlessly. "Another pile of junk you want to pay me with?"

Scroll in hand, Diana boldly takes a step forward. "There's no reason to pay".

The blonde lays the giant scroll on the floor and rolls it open. Written inside the scroll is a bunch of unidentifiable scribbles and words and a giant, red mark on the shape of a dragon's… hand, printed atop the words in a manner similar to a signature mark.

"Here", Diana says. She brushes her hair away as she looks down to examine the scroll. "This is the contract you signed with Luna Nova a thousand years ago.

With curiosity now overpowering their surprise, the teachers flock towards Diana and the scroll. The girls too has caught attention to what's unfolding, one by one, they climb down from what seems to be a giant desk with a size fitting for a dragon.

Akko, with Lotte giving her a ride, flies down next to us. "A contract?"

"There was a contract?" Miss Holbrooke remarks.

Miss Finnelan sighs. Visibly embarrassed, she whispers to the Headmistress quietly. "Yes, but it was written in ancient dragon script. No one was able to read it".

Diana continues. "I mastered this script when I was 12. It doesn't say anything here about interests. In other words, we didn't need to pay any interest from the start. But you knew these teachers couldn't read ancient dragon script, and you've been deceiving them. Making them pay interest that didn't even exist".

The news sinks onto the teachers and they collectively gasp at the news. All eyes turn to the dragon, who now stands accused. Cornered and endangered as beads of sweat runs down his scaly hide. The dragon tries to keep his calm and looks away dismissingly. "That's a false accusation!" he scoffs. "There is no such thing as 'no interest' nowadays. Something promised that long ago must be invalid now!"

"In that case, the debt itself is invalid", Diana argues. "Do you accept that?"

The dragon tries to reject the idea but fails to come up with anything. Seeing this, Diana pushes the attack even further. Se lifts her wand up and with a flick of it, a calculator of light appears out of thin air. Numbers begins to run on its screen, too much and too fast for mortals, or at least me, to read.

"According to my calculation, the interest Luna Nova paid so far is more than the original debt itself. If the interest itself is unjust, then the debt itself should be considered paid in full. Do you accept that?"

Diana lets her wand down, and the calculator fades away. "Regarding this unnecessary interest Luna Nova has paid over these years, we can negotiate you paying us back at a later date".

Diana's words trigger a wave of reactions across the room. The witch girls are all holding back their awe and admiration, the teachers try to hold their happiness at the sound of 'paying us back', and the dragon grunts and grimaces in horror.

"With that being said", Diana resumes. "Can you now return the Sorcerer's Stone?"

Diana turns towards the dragon, her back held straight in a perfect posture, Diana shows her hand forward and exclaims. "Mr Fafnir!"

A wave of relief and optimism sweeps through the crowd, the teachers and witch students all look towards the dragon expectantly, eager to hear his most awaited response.

I still don't understand what's going on.

All is done and the teachers crowd around Diana, thanking and congratulating her for her heroic act.

She deserved it, totally does. What she did was nothing short of heroic. I was late to the realization at first, but now after catching up on what's going on and after realizing the weight she had added to the scales, I can't help but admire the girl even more.

Another thing catches my attention, the elephant, or should I say, the dragon in the room. It seems as if I'm the only one who's really seeing the dragon, seeing as how no one seems to pay the dragon no more attention, all too caught up in Diana's grace. I don't blame them to be honest.

Mr Fafnir, the dragon, caught notice of me noticing him still. "What do you want, boy?" he asks in an annoyed tone.

"You're a… dragon", I remark, still awestruck at the beast.

Mr Fafnir sighs. "Brilliant observation"

Muttering still, Mr Fafnir turns his attention towards the many out of place computer screens perched and hanged all over the wall. _"Cursed wizards, no wonder your kind is dying"._

"Wow, that's… rude", I say.

Mr Fafnir quickly looks to me, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. He tries to speak quickly, but stumbles through a few words. "What, what did you…"

"Are you really going to badmouth just after you got out of trouble?" I ask.

Mr Fafnir squint his eyes and looks to me curiously. "I would, but I won't speak it in human tongue"

The dragon watches me carefully. Annoyance and irritation begins to make way for attention and interest in me. He brings his claws up to his chin and scratches it. _"It's been ages since I last see a wizard, someone from Yen's Forest, no less"_

I blink a few times. "Huh, how did you figure that out?"

" _Your wand there, tugged comfortably in your belt, that wood can't be found anywhere else"_

I've heard of stories mentioning the acute eyes of dragons, but this is beyond all those stories. In this rare occasion, it seems that the legends downplay the dragons' abilities.

"My wand's not for sale, it's never for sale, sorry", I tell the dragon.

Mr Fafnir sniffs the air. _"Hm, curious",_ he says _. "A normal flesh you have, and yet you try to look like a wizard"._

I've heard of this too, sharp sense of smell. I should be amazed, or at least insulted by what he knows and says, but instead I feel like I've been violated, somehow. Pulling on my robes for cover, I say to the dragon. "That's real polite. And no, I'm not trying to look like a wizard, I am, a wizard".

" _Are you now? Well, I suppose today is the day of fools with foolish dreams"_

The dragon stops on his words and leans closer to me, his eyes never leaving mine as he continues to study me. _"Tell me this instead, wizard. Have you ever heard the birds of Odin sing?"_

I pause for a minute, trying to register the bizarre question of his. "I'm… not sure how I'm supposed to know or answer that".

" _Have they ever told you their secrets?"_ The dragon continues. _"Have they ever sang, have they ever spoken to you, have they ever warned you of threat and danger?"_

The dragon pauses briefly and leans even closer towards me. His aged yet bright eyes come into full detail at this distance. _"Have you ever tasted a dragon's blood?"_

The dragon stops, he studies me with great interest as he waits for my response.

I reel back a bit from the dragon and his odd questions. I was about to leave him and his weird and confusing questions but something tells me I shouldn't be impolite to a dragon.

My long and confused silence is my answer. The dragon closes his eyes and nods. _"I see, I see. Tell me this then, wizard, where do you come from?"_

I shrug. "Yen's forest, just as you said. That's where I live. Or my teacher, more accurately, she just takes me in".

Mr Fafnir shakes his massive head. _"No, no. I'm referring to your progenitors"._

Now that's just weird. So I return the question to the nosy dragon. "You're not my father, dude"

The white dragon roars into laughter. _"In time, wizard, you'll tell me eventually!"_

Without any more questions and still chuckling, the dragon turns his back towards me, shaking the whole room as he does. The click and clack of his keyboard means the dragon has no more need of our conversation, so I make my way out of the room. However, on my way out, I could feel he's giving me some final glances.

Because of the talk with the dragon, I ended up being the last one to exit the ruins. Stepping outside, I'm greeted with the sight of the grim forest once again, only this time, the sound of chatter fills the once grave-silent air. The teachers and students have grouped up around the taxi, most of them working on preparing the Sorcerer's Stone for travel.

Diana notices my return and separates herself from the group. "You came out late, I was worried you got lost".

"I was, actually".

I look towards the Sorcerer's Stone. Diana follows my gaze and remarks. "Quite the situation the school had, being indebted to a dragon out of all things. They're not normally the type of people you'd like to get indebted to".

"The school owes you a greatly, Diana".

Diana turns to me. "And I owe you some thanks too. If it wasn't for you, we'd have no way to arrive here in time".

"Thank the driver, not me".

Diana turns her attention to the group of students surrounding the stone, all huddled and chatting with each other, the sight of them a complete contrast of the lifeless forest around us. "We originally planned to carry the stone by brooms lead by the students, but in the end we decided that the Sorcerer's Stone will be carried by the taxi. I'll be inside to watch over it".

It's like an unspoken thing, but I feel like Diana's words could translate to her offering me to join on the ride.

"That's nice, but I feel like flying" I answer.

Diana replies with a nod and walks towards the teachers and the Sorcerer's Stone, leaving me be with my decision. With a last look towards the ruins, I take a deep breath and try to forget the conversation with the white dragon.

Sudden rushed footsteps pull me away from my thoughts. I turn around just in time to see Akko shoving her face very close to mine, too close for comfort. "You're a wizard! A boy!" The brunet exclaims accusingly.

I blink a few times. "What? Yes I am, what's the matter?"

Akko's eyes widen and she's properly speechless in my indifference. "What's the matter? What's the matter? You're the only boy in our school and you didn't tell me?"

My mouth quickly purses as I remembered that I failed numerous times to disclose this information to Akko and her compatriots due to embarrassment and the amount of times I just don't want to tell them.

"Yes", I say, pulling my face away from the too alarmed Akko. "Yes I am a boy and I forgot to tell you that. Forgive and forget?"

"What a load of baloney!"

At this point, Akko has taken full hold of my shoulders and is now shaking me back and forth rapidly. As if an explanation to all this outrage is going to roll out of me like a gacha. "You're unforgivable! Why didn't you tell us? What were you planning to do after fooling me huh? You're gonna do all kinds of creepy things I bet!"

"P-p-p-preposterous!" I stammer in between the girl's raged shakes.

Sucy pops up beside Akko, with a vile smirk, she says. "No one's that interested to you to do anything like that, Akko".

Without turning around to give her friend a glare, Akko shouts. "Shut up, Sucy!"

I struggle to look past Akko towards Sucy. "H- How did this happen?"

Sucy replies. "I've figured it out almost instantly long ago, Lotte probably too. Honestly it takes a special kind of stupid to fall for your dumb disguise for such a long time".

Sucy's snark might be the lifeline I needed, Akko, taking the bait fully, stops her shaking and looks to her friend. "But- but! Why didn't you told me?!"

Sucy grins. "It's fun seeing how dumb you could be, Akko".

Akko looks visibly hurt by her friend's word, losing attention on me, Akko shoves her face to Sucy's. "What's that supposed to mean?!"

This is it, this is the point where all of Sucy's jokes might really hurt Akko's feelings! There's only one reasonable thing a friend is supposed to do here, and that's to swoop in and fan the flames just so Sucy will take the brunt of Akko's rage and take the spotlight away from me! Delightfully devilish, Jericho!

Raising my volumes, I cry loud enough for the three to hear. "Yeah, Sucy! Why didn't you tell her? You're such a terrible friend, Sucy!"

It's super effective! Akko clenches her fist and grits her teeth, visibly affected by my attempts to rile her up.

A grin escapes the edges of my mouth at the smoothness of my plans. Unable to contain my ambition, I boldly continue. "She's such a terrible friend, honestly. She must've thought it's funny to see you making a fool out of yourself, Akko!"

Akko is more and more riled up at her friend, easily purchasing all of my bolognas.

Sucy stops and silently looks to the angered Akko for a full minute, before shifting her gaze and casting a glare towards me as soon as she realizes my full intention. "I should murder you"

Seeing the gravity of the situation and the possibility of it to escalate, Lotte immediately steps in on impulse. "Hey, hey. I'm sure this is all a misunderstanding, maybe he's too embarrassed to tell us!"

With Lotte's mention of me, Akko seems to lose a few of her anger towards Sucy. "No way!" Akko says. "Why would he be embarrassed? How hard is it to walk up to us and just tell us that ooooh I'm a boy look at me!"

"It's not that easy, Akko", I whisper quietly, as low as my self-esteem that anyone fails to hear.

I can't show how weak I am by admitting that I was too shy to tell them the truth in fright of them not seeing me the way they would a wee witch girl and won't continue to hang with me!

This thought lingers for a moment, but soon the face of the pink haired pumpkin flashes through my mind, like a vision of my late gran-gran passes by me and reminding me of her advices.

Of course, this is one of those times where your lies has run and gone dry, leaving you with nothing but the last choice to come clean and tell the truth. Honesty is the last saving grace to a redemption-stricken lie after all.

I gulp and take a deep breath, preparing for the worst to come through my windpipe. "Hahah!" I laugh oh so genuinely. "It was all but a prank, it's nothing like that at all! I'm not too scared to admit who I was, I'm not that much of an idiot to be like that! I was just observing how long it would take for you three to realize my true identity! Yes sir, y'all caught me red handed this time!"

Dammit!

Akko's eyes widen for a moment, as if she actually bought my lie for one second. But she quickly straightens her mind furrows her brows, eyeing me with ever-growing suspicion. "No way that's the story! You're just making it up!"

Before Lotte could calm her riled up friend, Akko pouts and crosses her arm. She turns away, closing her eyes and denies to look at me further. "Whatever your excuses are, I still won't forgive you! I'll never forgive you! Never ever, ever!"

Not sparing another moment to look at me, Akko stomps away, pout still present. Lotte follows her friend, scampering towards her and attempting all sorts of verbal tactics to sooth the upset girl.

I breathe in and out deeply and a wave of relief washes over me. A weight that I forgot had burdened my chest for an absurd amount of time has been lifted from me, and the effects are quick to be felt. However unpleasant the confrontation was, at least it's now over, and all the misunderstood has been cleared away. All that's well ends well.

"If I still have some poison left, I would've spent it all on you".

I've completely forgotten that Sucy is still here. Turning around, I'm met with her deadly glare once more.

I let out a silent whimper at the sight.

Like a predator to its prey, Sucy doesn't let her eyes escape mine. Like a wicked version of a staring contest, the two of us look to each other without blinking, as if the first to do would be chomped down entirely.

The contest was long, and I'd expected her to do some unholy things to my body sooner or later, but unexpectedly, the beast suddenly turns around and begins walking to the direction of her friends, leaving me unharmed.

My invisibility spell is potent.

With harm out of my way, I breathe a sigh of relieve, shake my worries off and make way towards the crowd gathered around the taxi, ready to leave this place and everything here behind. Glad beyond belief that all this drama and trouble is done.

It seems that the teachers have taken the luxury of taking the taxi, which now has the glowing Sorcerer's Stone absurdly strapped on its roof. A gnome driver at the front, witch teachers at the back, and a neon like Sorcerer's Stone. If one were to add red and blue neon lights, lasers, dinosaurs, explosions, good music, and Zardu Hasselfrau, we could film a 80s music video.

With the crazy taxi packed and me not being able to ride a broom, I realize I've no choice but to hitch a ride. Scanning the area, I try to make my pick. "Hey, Sucy-"

"No", the witch cuts and walks elsewhere.

"T-that's fine" I call to her. "You must be tired and can't carry a person on your broom!"

I look around, trying to find another alternative. Akko is out of the option, since she's as good as an anchor in this situation, so that leaves me with Lotte. I ask the girl. "Lotte, can you give me a ride home?"

With regret, Lotte shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I've promised to give Akko the ride home she needs and I don't think I can handle carrying two".

I caught a glance of Akko. Our eyes meet for the briefest of seconds, but as we do Akko immediately returns to her pouting state and looks away.

"I-I see". I say. "That's okay, I could ask Diana to…"

I look around, and to my massive dismay, Diana took my words too quickly and is already in the now fully packed taxi.

My heart sort of drop as my option begins to dwindle. Afraid to worry Lotte, I tell the girl. "I…. can maybe walk my way back, it's not that far".

The rev of an engine suddenly fills the night air, signalling the imminent departure of the group. Diana rolls a window down and pokes her head out. "Everyone, the taxi will lead the way home. Don't stray too far from it and keep it in your eyes as you fly".

Diana takes a moment to assess us, making sure nothing is out of the ordinary and that everyone is ready to go. Soon, she notices the second flightless bird of the bunch and raises an eyebrow. "Do you need a ride?"

"Y-yes!" I say, face brightening up in Diana's offer. "If there's still room beside you I'd love to-"

Diana nods thoughtfully and cuts me. "The taxi is already full, and we need all the teachers here just in case. I'll have to assign someone else to carry you back".

Diana catches notice of my badly hidden disappointment. She says. "I can't really trust something as precious as the Sorcerer's Stone to anyone else, I'm sorry".

Diana scans the group, stopping as her eyes spots the backmost group. She calls out to them. "Amanda, have one of your friends carry Jericho here, I'm afraid he's unable to fly back home".

I spare no effort in turning around to address the girl at the back of the group, I could only look helplessly towards Diana and I spare no expense in hiding my disappointment at the blonde. A heartstring snaps and some part in my heart collapses, the disappointment is palpable that all the grim and dark of this place cannot match. This is the verdict that deep down I'm sure would be final, but despite that, I had tried to deny it fervently. I just don't want to see those three right now. I know it's bad to avoid them after what happened, but really, it's not a good time for me to see them. I just don't want to.

Perhaps that's what Diana is planning in the first place, she wants me to reconcile whatever happened between us.

Nay, she's torturing me, I bet. How inconsiderate, the gal this witch girl has! Forcing me to reconcile with someone currently hostile with me instead of letting me avoid and procrastinate my problems for an indefinite amount of time.

The girls begin to take flight, and I begin to sense movement behind me. Even then, I care not to look back.

"Yo", a familiar voice calls out.

I slowly turn my head, weighty it is that I could feel my neck bones creak in protest. I reply, with the same lack of enthusiasm as Amanda's. "Yo"

Amanda is floating in the air, the moon behind her basks her in a beautiful dark light, giving an imposing and graceful look for the beholders down below. Following behind Amanda are her two friends, Jasminka and Constanze, all on their own brooms.

I avert my gaze from the three. "You don't mind, do you?"

A shadow suddenly rushes overhead, followed by a gust of wind. I turn and find Amanda flying overhead towards the night sky.

Another gust of wind follow, this time Jasminka tows not far behind the redhead.

I'm left silenced for a while, dreading the next who will follow the two. But the last witch doesn't follow. Turning around, I find Constanze in front of me, her broom laid close to the ground and its engines slowed to a halt.

"Constanze?"

The witch says nothing, she only stares at me with furrowed brows for good moment. Eventually, her cheeks slowly rise to a pout, and she finally grunts quietly, tilting her head sideways and telling me to just get this over with.

* * *

The ride home was quiet, at least on the back row of the group. I stay with Constanze at the back-most of the flock, accompanied by Jasminka and Amanda. The girls all follow the lead of the taxi which, different from the manner it arrives here, traverses the dirt road below safely. We'd have a difficult time keeping track of the taxi in the moonlight, but the oversized stone makes the taxi the least concealed object in the vicinity.

There're no words spoken between me and Constanze ever since we departed, not necessarily because she's unresponsive to my attempts, but for what transpires earlier in the night. The endless rev of the engine installed into Constanze's broom is the only thing filling the silence.

Constanze has this near-ceaseless pout from the moment we took flight. She actively tries to avoid my gaze and keeps her head forward.

I sometimes catch Amanda throwing glances towards my direction, but upon returning the gaze, she always averts hers immediately.

The flight goes on like this for what feels like a painful eternity. Until I can't bear it anymore that I decided to go out my way and say it. "Are you guys mad at me?"

Still looking ahead, Amanda scoffs at my words. "Gee, what gave it away"

Amanda says nothing else and Jasminka offers not a single word.

"It doesn't make any sense, aren't I the one who's supposed to be upset here?"

I breathe a deep sigh before I continue. "I told you going after the dragon was a bad idea. No I'm not buying into the 'everything turned out alright in the end', the point is you risked being expelled from just going out here. After all I said I'd thought the three of you would at least try and give it a second thought".

Despite my lengthy speech, the three won't budge a muscle. All three of them keeps their eyes forward and away from me, and none cares to say a word.

"Guys come on, I'm not good at this!"

After another disgusting silence, I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. "Fine, you want an apology? Fiiine I did wrong, I shouldn't have told everyone what you did"

No response. The persisting silence urges me to continue my apology.

"I guess plucking the vial out was a pretty jerky thing to do. Sorry if I messed up your machine, Constanze. But you guys are pretty awful you know that? And I don't want to be dragged out of the school for the awful things you do. I just wanted to tell you all that and wanted to stop you".

I pause for a breath and say. "I was just trying to stop you guys, but I guess I shouldn't be a jerk about it".

I'm not good with any of this, I never find it easy to say this kinds of things to anyone. In fact, I've never said this kinds of things to anyone, it's just so embarrassing.

I don't think I made any good apology and I don't think I could continue with any more, so I was surprised when Amanda suddenly slows down to fly next to me. "Dude, stop". She says in one quick breath. "I was just messing with you".

I turn to her. "W-what do you mean?"

"It's just a joke, it's just a joke! We're not mad at you or anything I just wanted to see far you'll go. Right Constanze?"

The little witch stays silent for a moment, until Jasminka nudges her with her elbow. Immediately, Constanze starts nodding.

I look to the red head and red begins to slowly rush to my cheeks. Burying my head in my hands, I mutter. "No, no, this can't be happening".

But it's not just the red of embarrassment that's brewing inside of me, I'm starting to feel a completely different kind of red for this American.

Amanda quickly takes notice of this, she pauses and visibly looks panicked. She quickly darts her eyes away and points behind me to the pink haired girl. "It was Jasminka's idea".

The accused girl is visibly pained, "What?! Amanda you meanie!".

Amanda is already on her fight or flight mode and time she chooses fight. "Y-yeah, she's terrible she teamed up with Constanze to force me to follow".

With herself pulled into the crossfire, Constanze shoots Amanda a dreadful look.

Jasminka appears to represent Constanze's feelings when she says. "Amanda, stop lying to him! You're the one that told us to stay quiet!"

Amanda bites her tongue and is frozen in conflict. She struggles and stutters to form any coherent word and could only come up with unintelligible noises for a moment. Part of her must've felt overwhelming guilt but another part doesn't want to take admit that guilt. Her face becomes a battleground of emotions yet she tries to hide it and act as if all this is nothing but a joke.

After a long moment of indecisiveness, Amanda suddenly shuts down and cranes her head weakly. It was then when she grumbles so quietly.

Jasminka wasn't impressed at all. "He didn't hear you".

Amanda repeats her statement, slightly louder than before but still inaudible.

Jasminka sighs. "Amanda".

Amanda suddenly lifts her head up and with a loud cry, loud enough to be heard by all the airborne witches around, shouts "I'm sorry I was messing with you!"

The words ring in our ears, and the three of us soon find Amanda bitterly looking away from us and refuses to say anything else. Red is her colour and it's not her hair. I sort of ignore anything in my surrounding right now. Just hearing Amanda struggling and finally shouting her apology is still a surreal experience.

Not four of us attempts to say anything, probably still recovering and grasping what just happened between us. It's really weird, awkward and sort of uncomfortable. But my embarrassment is sort of gone now, mainly because I'm sort of out of the spotlight now. Or rather, the spotlight is shared with another idiot.

"So you're honest when you said you're not mad at me?"

Amanda doesn't meet my eyes. She barely says, "'Guess".

After that, I say nothing, and no one too says a thing. Silence accompanies the flight and none of us attempts to make any change to it.

I feel like a change of topic is at hand, seeing how uncomfortable are everyone on the matter. And apparently that responsibility falls onto me. I don't usually do this, but the whole ordeal makes me comfortable enough to start, though awkwardly. "Soooo, how did Akko found out about me being a boy?"

I notice Amanda flinching at the mention of that matter. She keeps looking away and acts like she didn't hear my question.

Jasminka drifts closer towards our broom. "Well, we didn't know they still don't know, so…"

"Oh, that must be awkward" I say.

Jasminka nods. "It was, Amanda was the one that spilled it".

Upon hearing her name, Amanda turns to us and pushes herself into the conversation again. "Dammit Jasminka, why is it me again?"

Jasminka giggles seeing her friend's distress. I couldn't blame her, it is a rare sight for everyone.

"You're a mess", I tell Amanda.

"You're an idiot", Amanda says to me.

I shrug. "Well you're not totally wrong at that, I guess it's my fault for not telling you I still hid that secret in the first place".

The girls didn't ask, but I continue nonetheless. "I didn't tell you because I thought you guys don't want to talk about anything relating to the broom race, so I kept it to myself".

I pause in surprise as I notice Amanda turning to look at me. I say. "It's stupidly silly, I know".

Amanda raises an eyebrow. "Why wouldn't we want to?"

"Well I… you're all basically disqualified because of the baton bagel, which is my fault by the way not Jasminka. So I thought maybe the race didn't leave a good memory for you all".

"That's ridiculous", Amanda says. "We don't care if you did, we had a fun time we didn't care about the race. I said that remember?"

"Well, yeah I remember, but then you went on to your rooms and the next day and the next you three never spoke anything relating to the race so I thought you don't want to talk about it".

Amanda replies quickly. "Well we never talked about it when you're around because we thought you're still bitter about it and don't want to talk about it! And true enough you never talked about it so we thought you were bitter!"

We stare at each other for a moment, the revelation dawns on us soon. "We're both idiots, aren't we?" I say.

"You're the one who said it", Amanda replies.

Silence dawns on the two of us. Meanwhile, Jasminka and Constanze watch the two of us expectantly, as if they're waiting and expecting very hard for both of us, _any_ of us, to say some apology or another for not being open. We're both bad at apologies, if what just transpired taught them anything, so naturally, none of us says any.

However, one of us does say an apology eventually, albeit not one on this current topic.

"Hey, Jerry", I hear Amanda mumble, so quiet it comes out like a whisper. It makes me turn to her. "Sort of… I'm sort of sorry for being stubborn earlier".

She doesn't meet my eyes, a very rare sight of her. Silence hangs heavy as she waits for my reply. I can only imagine what's going on in her head right now.

I hate the serious direction this conversation is reeling into, so eventually I reply, "So terrible, please don't ever try to apologize to me ever again".

Out of her embarrassment and into surprise, Amanda glares at me. "Oh you're unhappy? Well sorry your highness I don't make apologies for a living!"

"I'm just saying you're super awkward doing it and it makes me feel awkward too"

"Well its' not as awkward as your lame apology!"

"How dare you that took guts to say!"

While we're caught up in our bickering, I didn't notice the smile making its way to Jasminka. She watches us bicker, smiling and chuckling, she's glad that her friends are back.

Eventually, she doesn't want to miss out. Jasminka slides her broom closer and says, with a radiant smile, "If Amanda's wasn't good enough, I apologize too then".

The distant dawn sun in the horizon, despite the warmth it casts on the once cold and dreary forest and how it surrounds the air and warms us, has no chance of outshining and out-warming the smile the pink haired girl radiates.

I need sunglasses.

I reply, "You don't need to, Jasminka, it's Amanda that was acting like a jerk after all".

From behind, Amanda says, "Oh my gosh I already said sorry!"

I ignore her, naturally.

Jasminka shakes her head. "No, no. I'll do a better job watching over her stubborn head next time".

With her apologies done, Jasminka looks at Constanze. Soon Amanda follows.

I follow their gazes and find the little witch turning back and forth between her two friends with a look of distress in her face. She would then look back to face me once in a while, only to quickly throw her gaze away from me, darting her eyes and turning back and forth away from me again and again.

"I'm sorry is what she's trying to say", Amanda pipes in, showing her grin that has been missing the whole night. She's definitely happy the apology spotlight is now on someone aside from her.

Constanze throws a serious look towards the redhead, who now backs away and raises her hands in defence.

I appreciate her gesture, it's the most I'll get from this girl. I think this to myself as a soft smile begins to form on my lips.

"Well I'm sorry for being a jerk earlier too, I guess…"

The three of them has their full attention me. They wait and watch me with great attention, ready to hear whatever I had to say next.

What they don't know is that it's just that, that's the extent of my apology, I'm not good at them and no one can convince me to continue with it. Stammering, I tell the three. "I- I'm not going to say more than that! Stop looking at me like that!"

Amanda has the most disappointed look on her face, perhaps because my apology is as lame as hers, but Jasminka was the first one to reply. "Apology accepted. But does that mean you accept ours?"

The three waits for my answer with eager smiles, save for Constanze who tries to make the best smile she can muster.

This warm yet terribly mushy situation is a completely new feeling for me and I don't want this to stick for long. I say, still embarrassed. "Yes".

A wave of relief sweeps through the girls. Jasminka has been smiling all the time, I've thought there's no way for her to do it, but the warmth the girl radiates seems to rise twofold after she hears the great news. Amanda just breathes a sigh of relieve, probably relieved that the whole mess is over, yet she does smile a little afterwards.

All seems to be glad and well except for Constanze, whose eyes keeps searching away from me, a tremble constantly runs through her lips, as if there stuck are her words and smile.

I couldn't blame the girl, I myself couldn't smile. It's just such a heckin weird feeling for me, listening to and saying all these mushy stuffs. So much discomfort was felt in me in such a supposedly good moment.

"Can you guys… look away now? Thanks" I beg.

The three says nothing and thankfully moves on. I'd expected more words coming from them, especially Amanda, but surprisingly they all comply. One by one, Jasminka and Amanda leaves me and Constanze alone, their smiles ever-present as they do.

A deep breathe escapes me, fuming against the cold wind.

Ahead, the trees are endless still. Our journey's end is quite far, but I'm glad it is. The sun continues its climb on the distant horizon, bathing the sky in rich and warm colours. The previously lifeless and soundless trees make way for green, verdant, and lively trees. The voices of its inhabitants and the movement of wings fill my ears. The whole world itself seems to have the perfect timing.

I would sometime smile to myself along the journey, thinking how Michelle's still right and yet also wrong at the same time.

They're good friends after all...

Sometime along the journey, I catch Constanze glancing back to me silently, only to look away when I return her gaze.

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 **Author's Notes: Hey ho it's your favourite author again! So here we are at the 26th chapter, and those pesky friendship problems are sort of amended. I have not much to say here beside the usual paragraph asking for likes and all that, so I'll do just that! Don't forget to follow and favourite this fanfic if you really do enjoy it, it really means a lot for me and I appreciate all the feedback reviews i could get, good or bad they're reviews and are always welcome so don't be shy and write down anything you like down there, even unrelated stuff!**

 **Well done if you recognize where the dialogue between Jericho and Fafnir comes from, you must be fun at Valhallas.**

 **Ho boy was this chapter a good time to write and a long one at that. I think it would've been better and easier for me to cut half of this and attach it to the 25th chapter, but at that time of that chapter's release i didn't expect the sheer length of this chapter, a staggering length of 13,029 words!**

 **It happened and well it happened. The next chapters will be ever more exciting i betcha, no more sappy and mushy things i hope, i never write those kinds of stuffs so i have no benchmarks.**

 **I hope you all stick around for my next chapter and the next, because it'll be more and more interesting as we go down this rabbit hole : )**

/-/

Akko denies looking at me for the whole day, grumping constantly, she keeps working on her laundry.

Can't be helped, it takes time for the Sorcerer's Stone to fully integrate to the system, so for tonight, we'll have to fold our sleeves and make work for this special occasion. Tomorrow the stone will be up and running, and all will be well again.

"Sigh, I guess I'll lend a hand", I say as I fold my sleeves.

"Did he just say 'sigh'?" Sucy says, squinting her eyes at me in disdain.

I walk over towards Constanze, who seems to have the most trouble. This is enough reason for someone to lend a hand, but add the fact that I was the one that messed her machine up, I have more reasons than most to help the girl.

"Hey", I start.

The girl ignores me for a minute, focusing on her work dutifully.

"I'm sorry for breaking your machine, I'll lend a hand if you want me to".

She says nothing and gives me not a single look, but she shows no sign of refusing my help as I sit down next to her.

I don't want to force her to like me, so I just quiet myself away and wash away the pain, the pain that is the dirt that's dirtying these damn clothes.

Only, what's… this?

I've never felt this kind of clothing before, it's odd… and spongy, why would they place the kitchen sponge here? In the clothing laundry? That would soil the perfectly good clothes!

Picking the wayward piece of dish armament up, I study the nasty little rascal briefly. A pink spongy item, it's oddly connected to another sponge…

It's a bra.

The redness pales in comparison to the rush of blood beneath my cheeks. Constanze raises her head in confusion at me, but her curiosity quickly makes way for embarrassment as she notices the object in my hand. A multitude of unintelligible noise emanate from the stunned Constanze.

"N-no wait Constanze I didn't"

Picking up on the curiosity, Amanda comes shuffling in behind us. "Yo, what's up?"

Amanda's cheeks starts to puff with red. She covers her mouth with her hands, trying to supress whatever sound that almost comes out. It sounds like a mixture of laughter and scream.

"Uh, guys? Why are you slacking?" Akko asks in an annoyed tone. Her impatience and annoyance was quickly thrown out the window, however, when she starts to stutter gibberish and steam begins to blow out of her head. "WHA-WHAHAHAHHAWHAWHWHAAWWHA".

Akko points her fingers accusingly towards me, her head begins to boil and she's at a loss of words, but soon all those fire will erupt and she'll scream louder than she'd ever screamed.

I've lived a good albeit short life.


	21. Wizard Fight 102

**Author's Notes: Hello there. Yes I've been gone for so terribly long but its for good reasons. I was so terribly busy with my uni's final exams that I have to decide that writing fanfics shouldn't get between me and my grades, so I have to put my laptop on the toppest top of my shelf and pull of those dusty books I've promised myself to read at the start of the semester. Another unfortunate reason for my absence is the massive influx of mails and whatnots that my family received, all of them about family events and gatherings and all those kinds of wholesome family stuff. So your boy here was pulled right out the business of exams right into the thick and thin of endless family gatherings, revisions are still going so there's that too! They're all good fun and a blast though, the exams included.**

 **But none of that matters because guess what your boy is back and now bringing his update to his award winning fanfic. Oh my god I'm suffocating out of excitement!**

 **So I won't waste anymore of your seconds and let you enjoy the fanfic. Don't forget to hit that like button, smash that subscribe button, be excellent to each other and party on dudes!**

 **Seriously like and favourite and review it keeps me alive thank.**

* * *

Akko was thrown back hard. She rolls across the wooden floor before skidding to a halt. She lifts her head up slowly and holds her nose painfully.

Despite the pain she clearly felt, Akko immediately pushes herself up and readies herself for another try.

Meanwhile, I lay on the ground not far from her face down and holding my stomach. "She shot me in the stomach", I groan. "Why did she shoot me in the stomach?"

Akko reaches down and tugs at my uniform. "Come on! Just a little more and we can beat her!"

"Are you mad?" I startle. "We can't beat that… that monster!"

Akko looks ahead. "No way I'm giving up! Not until I wipe that smug smirk off her face!"

I look up and ahead, past the battle zone and through the thick smoke surrounding it. Over there on the other end of the room is where Diana stands. Her prim and perfect looks completely contrasts the chaotic landscape around us. Her expression was calm yet focused, not letting her guard down despite her clearly lesser opponents.

Still on the ground I turn to Akko. "She's not even smirking! What are you on about?"

Ignoring my warning, Akko lets out a war cry and runs ahead with reckless abandon.

Zero bothers were given. Still on the floor, I let myself take a breather and face down, waiting for the inevitable to happen again.

A loud smashing noise echoes through the room followed by a painful scream. Akko was thrown away and landed on the floor near me again, her wand scattered beside her.

Still face down, I grumble. "Take it as a tactical retreat instead. Or play dead, it always works for me".

Akko turns to me and snaps. "If you're not going to even try then just step out of the field!"

Her sudden outburst throws me off guard and I find myself pushing myself off the ground involuntarily. "O-okay, okay. Don't be mad please".

I realize there's no end to this aside from properly fighting our way to victory, or defeat. Problem is our objective isn't someone that could be easily toppled.

But aside from our ridiculously overpowered adversary, I also have another massive setback.

My thoughts were interrupted, or rather, proved correct when I catch Akko about to charge headlong to the enemy again.

I quickly catch her by her elbow to stop her. Urging her to stop banging her head repeatedly on a brick wall expecting it to fall and try to at least formulate a reasonable strategy.

"I'll be honest with you", I start. "There's no hope in the two of us defeating that monster over there, but if you want to at least prove you're half-decent to her then I could probably help, a bit".

Thankfully Akko gives me a piece of her patience and waits for my advice. Evidently she needs to stop her attack anyway seeing how she struggles to catch her breath.

"Well, what do you want us to do?"

Well, Ere we go.

Its clichéd, but I need to close my eyes when I need to grind the old rusty grinders.

There's no way one of us could dish out enough magic to take down Diana, nor taking much attacks from her. Dividing her attention is a sound strategy, but judging from how she's kept us at bay so far with so little sign of exertion I could guess she's more than capable to cast a wide variety of wide spreading or multi-directional attacks that could down us at the same time. I have no real confirmation of this but I'm willing to bet that Diana indeed is capable to do so.

Opening my eyes, I glance at the other end of the field, towards the shifting image of Diana hidden behind a thick cloud of smoke.

A long ranged battle? I can do that but I doubt Akko could contribute much to it. So far despite the girl's overwhelming willpower and energy, her magic is low flame at best. From the few attacks she'd managed to land on Diana, I'd learnt that Akko prefers, or only able to, perform unrefined magical spells; short in range, inefficient and excessive use of magic, yet potent nonetheless.

That leaves short ranged battle as the only way to make the best of both of our potentials. But there's more chance of peril in that compared to all my other ideas. Not to mention we have no idea and no way to get _that_ close to the girl. We're just too weak individually.

I blink a few times, eyes wide as I realize something.

"I have something", I say, surprising Akko.

"You do?" Akko asks with a hint of interest. "Please tell me this doesn't involve one of us being sacrificed as bait".

"Don't worry there's nothing like that". I say. "It sounds terribly stupid but it might work, probably".

Clearing my throat, I begin to unfold my plan. "Ever heard of leap frog? It's like that except neither one of us will leap over one another. It's more metaphorical really, you switch the leap with…"

I stop on my tracks as I notice Akko losing interest in my ramblings.

I sigh. "Fine, just listen close".

/-/

The scarred battle zone was quiet and none of the combatants stir. The wooden floorboards are charred at some parts and upturned or reduced to splinters on the other. Smoke rises from the embers that were once great fires weaved into battle by the combatants.

The two of us has taken the cover of the smoke and try to close in on Diana. Akko follows me with silenced steps while I lead closely in front of her.

The smoke starts to dissipate eventually and when it finally revealed our position, Diana wastes no time in stopping our attempt at ambush. A red bolt of energy climbs into the air before diving, producing a sharp shrieking noise as it races towards us.

I manage to repel it in time, deflecting the blast to our side and sending small and charred wooden splinters into the air.

The impact of the attack still lingers on my hand, I couldn't stop it from trembling for a few good seconds.

"You okay?" I hear Akko whisper.

"Sort of!".

As we further close the distance Diana responses by increasing the frequency and ferocity of her attacks.

I deflect the first blast, block the second, and narrowly repel the third. As I block the fourth blast I lose my footing and nearly fell. Taking advantage, Diana fires off another to finish me.

I narrowly regain my footing before the attack arrives but instead of defending it, I rush to a retreat and take cover right behind Akko who now rushes ahead and takes my former spot.

She lets out a loud cry as she summons her defensive spell; a simple ward spell in the form of a barrier.

The attack makes impact with Akko's barrier and it surprisingly holds. Holding onto her wand with both hands, Akko struggles momentarily to regain her balance before we continue our march forward, this time with me Akko leading at the front.

"Just a few more seconds", I say through bated breathes.

Akko gulps and steels herself for what's to come.

Another attack flies towards us and Akko holds her wand high, defending the two of us from the attack.

The impact sends sparks of flame raining down around us, Akko's hands trembles at the weight of the attack. She involuntarily lowers her wand and her barrier begins to twitch and waver.

Diana continues to launch volley after volley of spells towards Akko. Exploiting the girl's weak variety of magic, Diana casts a wide range of different elemental attacks. Impact-heavy ice bolts, shock-heavy lightning bolts, and burning fire bolts; elements that require different kinds of defensive spells for each. Something that Akko couldn't possibly hope to keep up with.

But Akko shows no sign of backing down. She corrects her footwork and brings her wand high up.

Akko gives her everything to cast the best barrier spell she knew. A sinfully simple and unrefined barrier spell, but the sheer intensity and potency of it surprises me. What she lacks in complexity she supports with sheer firepower and determination.

The endless volley of magic comes crashing down on us. The ice shakes and slams the barrier, the bolt disrupts its flow of magic, and the fire burns what's left of it down.

Akko incredibly survived the attack for the both of us but at a great cost. Falling to her knees, Akko struggles to speak between her laboured breaths. "Switch… switch"

I rush in front of her, providing Akko cover just in time to block Diana's next attack that would've struck Akko for good if it wasn't for our timely switch.

Continuing our pace forward, I gulp deeply after taking into account the hellish attack our opponent just unleashed.

Despite myself, I still have the time to look back and be worried for Akko. "You alright?"

Akko slowly nods. She slowly gets herself up and follows closely behind me. "Just need time".

My steps begin to waver at the thought of facing what Akko just did. Granted I'm more experienced with magic compared to the girl, I find it difficult to believe that I could muster a barrier spell with such fortitude as Akko's.

The next volley comes without warning. I try to block, repel, and deflect everything that comes our way. For each attack I repel another follows without end and every time I block one of them my entire hand trembles in protest, urging me to give in and run behind Akko for cover.

I bite that thought away and try to do the same thing Akko did, pushing myself to the limit.

Diana's last missile makes impact with my wand. My deflection was untimed and imperfect, punishing me with a strong tremble that runs all the way to my arm.

It feels as if my arm would just pop off its socket if I take another.

But I know Akko's far from recovering, leaving me with no choice but to hold fast.

The next attack comes without rest. Holding my wand straight, I attempt to deflect it only to be met with its overwhelming firepower. The attack punctures through my spell and lands on my hand, disarming me as I lose grip of my wand.

My wand lands on the floor far from us. There's no chance to retrieve it. Even if I could run to it without getting hit by Diana's next attacks, I would be stripping Akko of any cover. With the absence of my wand I'm unable to tank any more damage, which leaves me with no choice but to switch places again.

But glancing behind, I find Akko not fully ready to take my place. Her breathing had calmed down but her hold on her wand is visibly weakened, it nearly falls from her clutch as she struggles to push on with shaky legs. In her grand display of defence she had unfortunately used up all her magic.

The next attack comes before I realize it, coming straight towards me at incredible speed.

Without warning, Akko rushes in front of me and takes the missile for herself.

The missile strikes her right in the shoulder and sends her tumbling down the floor. She bites back a pained yelp and forces herself to look up. "Grab your wand!"

I quickly rush to my wand, only to feel a blunt pain in my side that throws me across the floor.

I roll on the floor and stop a few distances away from Akko, groaning in pain as I stop.

The ring of a bell cuts through the room and our eyes are quickly drawn to the side of the room where Michelle stands with a handful of students by her side. Her hand is rested on a small bronze bell hanging on the wall.

"And it's a knockout", Michelle announces through a purple megaphone.

Akko struggles to push herself off the floor in a slow and difficult manner. Still, she has the energy and will to refuse to give up. "N-no way! We can still go on, the time isn't even up yet!"

Despite herself, Akko winces and holds her shoulder as she lands back on the floor.

Michelle lowers her megaphone and speaks normally "You best visit the infirmary. You might not feel it now but you'll regret it tomorrow if you don't check your injury up".

Still on the ground and face down, I groan in pain. "I thought you said the wands are practice use. It's bloody not".

Michelle blinks. "I did. But I didn't say it won't hurt, did I?"

Before I could lecture my own teacher on the safety hazards of magic combat an overall transparency in the educational system, Diana has returned from her other side of the battle zone and is immediately surrounded and showered with praises by the nearby students.

Diana's looks are a complete contrast to ours. Despite what the three of us just went through, Diana seems prim and proper as always. It's as if she wasn't even fighting in the first place.

I'm assuming very strongly that the reason we managed to survive as far as we did is because she held back the entire time. A fact equally heartbreaking as it is obvious.

I can't say that Akko knows it and I don't bother to share my thoughts with her fearing that I might break her heart if I did.

Michelle looks to Diana and smiles. "That was an impressive display of magic, Diana. And my expectations were high".

Despite what she went through mere seconds ago and what exhaustion it must've caused on her, Diana doesn't take it as an excuse to not act politely. Bowing gracefully the girl smiles and says. "It's my pleasure to help".

Out of the crowd of praising students, it's to be expected that Hannah and Barbara are the ones that gives the most intense, or perhaps the most redundant and annoying praises.

'Amazing job, Diana! You were amazing, Diana! You showed those pesky lesser witches, Diana! Have my babies, Diana!' are some of the many praises the two showers Diana with.

Or at least that's what they sound like in my head. In truth I can't really hear what they're saying from over here and I'm just filling their conversations in my own head.

While the students are occupied with the star of the show, Michelle walks up to Akko and I. With a smile she says. "I have to say, that's not a bad trick you did back there".

"What, the play dead thing?" I ask.

Michelle breaks into laughter and shakes her head. "No, no. I meant that switcheroo you did with Miss Kagari".

"O-oh, that one" I mumble. "Right, totally ingenious".

Akko stands to her feet, her hand still rested on her injured shoulder. "That hurt" she says with a wince.

Michelle takes out a little notebook and starts. "Well you shouldn't worry too much about that, your pain is productive after all. I must say I didn't expect the two of you to survive that long, not against someone like Diana".

She begins to write down on her little notebook. "Seeing you two's teamwork, I got to give you two mighty B's".

At the mention of those grades Akko's eyes lighten up. "R-really, a B? This is the first time I've ever gotten a B!"

It's as if all the pain she just felt had disappeared. She's practically jumping up and down at the excitement of the grades.

"Well this is awfully generous" I say, more to myself than to anyone.

But Michelle puts pencil to her lips and thinks deeply. "However, I didn't like how one of you shows severe lack of motivation in the middle of the fight".

The words cut through the air like butter through a hot knife.

Wait, no.

The words cut through the butter like hot air through a knife.

Michelle begins to erase the grade away from her notebook. "Motivation is key to winning… well, everything. And without it your fight is as good as over".

Michelle nods solemnly for a few seconds. "Yes, yes. Motivation shouldn't come when one is threatened, it must come from your own. I'm going to grade you a D plus, Jericho".

Akko sighs in relieve as she realizes she's not the one getting the D.

"However", Michelle starts again and with just that one word, the butter cuts through the hot word… what.

"A team is as strong as its weakest member. Even if you're as talented as Diana, if you let weakness grow on your team you won't find yourself going far. That's why I think this grade will give you two a reminder of that lesson. Of course giving you two D pluses because of only one person's mistake is harsh, so I'll give C plusses, the both of you".

Butter through air… what. I give up.

"That's… not okay", I voice my opinion.

Despite myself, I'm still able to welcome the disappointing yet expected scores. However I can't say the same thing for Akko.

Akko's jaw hangs low. Shocked to the point of no words, Akko's only response to the dreadful grades are unintelligible half-sentences.

As if she had divined what'll happen next, Michelle close her little notebook and leaves us. Waving a hand back, she says. "I'll go help the other students, feel free to hit the infirmary and take someone with you if you're think you need to".

Even after Michelle's departure, Akko continues her disbelieve-induced trance. It's starting to worry me to be honest, but I can't just start a conversation and ask her if she's alright since… well, I'm the cause of her trance.

But in the end my worry for her got the better of me and I'm compelled to care for my friend. I mean come on, this is Akko we're talking about. She won't be mad at her friends for petty things like school grades right?

Right?

Reaching for her, I shake her by her good shoulder and nervously ask. "A-Atsuko Kagari?"

Akko immediately snaps out of her silence in such a speed that it startles me. She quickly turns to me and slaps my hand away from her shoulder. Pointing accusingly at me she starts to yell. "You did that! You made my grade turn into a C!"

I hold my hands up in defence. "C plus! Not C!"

Some of the students that had gathered around Diana have started to pick up on our little fight. Akko has not noticed this however, her anger got the better of her and she starts yelling even louder.

"Keep it down, you're making a scene here!"

My plea went over Akko's head, she continues on with the same tone and loudness. "We would've gotten B plusses if you weren't trying to play dead through the whole fight!"

She continues on with more rants and harsh words and before I could get the chance to defend from her accusations Akko stomps and turns her back towards me. She crosses her arms and pouts. "You good for nothing… grade reducing… pervert!"

At the sound of that word, the girls that were pitching in on our little drama gasps in unison.

If my face wasn't red from the growing attention we receive from the students, it definitely is now. "I-I'm not a pervert! What happened that night was a complete accident!"

Akko doesn't care to listen, she keeps her back towards me and yells again. "Lies! Pervert!"

"Akko I'm not a pervert!"

Akko turns and sticks her tongue at me. She then continues to yell more insults at me and starts to lose track of her own language, now mixing in some Japanese in her sea of insults. "Hentai! Hentai, hentai, hentai, hentai!"

Many students had already gathered around us, all curious and watching the scene Akko is making. Some of the students start to whisper to each other and throw disdainful looks at the two of us. Akko must be incredibly upset to not notice, or to not care for the growing attention we're receiving.

I could see Diana and her friends in the mix as well. Hannah and Barbara wear the most disdainful scowls while Diana is more confused at the situation more than anything.

Rushing towards Akko, I quickly close her mouth with my hands and in a desperate attempt to silence her.

The outrage went on for a few more seconds until Michelle finally decides that it's worth her attention. Once she separates the two of us she demands an explanation, we both give our own versions of the story both at the same time and only ending up in confusing Michelle.

Michelle's confusion was short-lived however as she takes a glance at Akko. Her eyes widen and she walks up to the girl. "You got blood on your mouth!"

Akko seems to lose her temper for the moment. She traces her mouth with her finger and looks at it and sure enough, there's blood on it. Oddly enough, she seems more puzzled than terrified by the blood. "But I don't feel a thing" she says.

Akko glances at me and then at my hand. Her eyes suddenly went wide and she backs a few paces away from me. "Ah you're bleeding!"

I look to my right hand and sure enough find it bleeding pretty badly. This discovery is quickly followed by gasps and worried whispers from the crowd of students, some of them even turn their heads in horror and disgust.

Michelle takes a look at my hand and decides it's best for me to retire early and head into the infirmary. She even went on to assign someone to see me safely arrive at the infirmary, to which she appoints Diana.

The girl gladly accepts. Perhaps she felt she's one to blame for my wound. I refuse however, politely declining both Michelle and Diana's offer.

Michelle had taken hold of my hand the entire time. I pull it off and smile to her reassuringly. "It doesn't hurt. Not worth a trip to the infirmary. I can just patch this up myself you know?"

Diana furrows her brows. "That looks very painful. Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the infirmary?"

I smile to her and shake my head. "Really".

/-/

Well I'll need to add 'refusing to go to the infirmary' into my ever-growing list of wrong decisions in life.

The pain of the wound must've been dulled by my rush of adrenaline during the fight, and now that they're gone, in comes the pain train.

My hand feels as if it's lost its entire skin and is burning at every slight of movement or pull of the skin. With the overwhelming pain in my right hand, I'm left with my left hand to search the room for a first aid kit that I believe is stashed somewhere in my room.

A bubbling noise emerges from my desk, without turning I answer. "Yes I know darling but I need to find something to stop me from dying".

Francis bubbles in again to which I hastily reply. "I'd rather die than go to the infirmary!"

It's terribly hard to open the cabinets and shelves with a left hand which causes me to take mighty amount of time and many acts of reckless searching to finally find the first aid kit. In the difficult process of dressing my wound with only my left hand I've spectacularly forgotten to clean the wound first before bandaging it. Such act of clumsiness might sound hilarious to anyone but me since taking off the bandage after applying it feels like skinning your own hand. Needless to say, this is definitely not one of my favourite memories of my time in this school.

It took a great deal of time and endurance to finally finish dressing my wound. Questionably sterile, the bandage itself looks terrible and disproportionate and honestly it doesn't seem safe.

As if to prove the bandage's questionable quality, a bit of blood escapes its weak seal, spreading red on the clean white cloth.

Moving on!

In my carelessness during my search for the mythical first aid kit, I'd clumsily knocked a few, well, a dozen stacks of my books onto the floor. Alongside the books I've also pulled many of the shelves in my cupboard right out of its frame, scattering them on the floor with their contents spilled near them.

During the bitter process of reorganizing my entire room, I come across one particular item that has fallen victim to my crazed search.

Apparently I've accidentally thrown the wooden box containing the mythical white stone onto the floor, its content spilled right next to it, silly me.

Cursing my own clumsiness, I take the stone and intend on putting it back.

However, just as my fingers make contact with the stone, I'm met with a terrible burning sensation on my fingers. In shock, I drop the stone and saw it fell hard on the wooden floor.

I look to my freshly bandaged right hand only to find the bandages to have burn marks all across it, turned dry and brittle as if all moisture from the blood it has absorbed has been heated out of it.

The sudden alteration of the bandage is the very least of my worries however, as before me a much more unsettling thing is unfolding.

The white stone is no longer white. Its once white and clean surface had turned burning red as smoke and steam begins to escape from its surface in a painful and sharp unnatural whistling noise. It begins to rattle violently on the floor, forcing me to take several panicked steps back until my back meets the corner of the room.

My eyes quickly dart towards Francis whose bowl sits on the desk not far from the rattling stone. Despite myself, I quickly run towards him and carry his bowl back to the safety of the corner of the room.

Together, we observe the horror unfolding before us. Without one of us knowing what to do, we're left with nothing but to wait and see what's to happen in suspenseful silence.

And then, as mysteriously and quickly as it came, the stone goes quiet. No rattling, no sound and no smoke, just silence.

There's an unusual air around us. The silence itself feels unnatural. I cannot feel relieved, somehow knowing that whatever is happening can't be over yet.

And true enough, something far more alarming happens.

Miniscule yet observable, blood begins to trickle down the stone's newly red surface.

And it gets much worse after that.

/-/

The telephone rings twice before someone finally picks up. On the other side, an old and smooth voice answers. "Yen's Tower residence, how can I help you?"

"What am I supposed to do when there's lots of blood?" I ask.

"Master Jericho!" Bernard amuses. "It's been quite a while isn't it, how are you doing?"

In one short breath I answer. "Good, I'm doing good. Now please answer my question"

"Calm down master. Is the blood coming from you or someone else?"

"Er… someone else".

"Very good. Now before I begin, I need to know whether the blood is spilling from the wound or spurting. Remember, this is crucial information".

I glance back to the stone, the slow trickling it did mere seconds ago had grown into a bloody stream. It flows through the floor like a macabre river, seeping through the gaps between the floor boards and down to wherever's down there.

I sure hope no one lives under my room.

Trying to discern and describe the horror unfold I answer. "Um… a little bit of both. It's hard to tell really".

"Dear me", Bernard very plainly muses. "Well, grab whatever cloth is near you and start pressing the wound with it. Pump it and press it".

"Already done that but it's not exactly working, what else am I supposed to do?"

"Keep pressing it. If you have one you should use some kind of rope, anything you could use to tie the limb tightly and stop the blood flow. That'll help to stop the blood flowing to the open wound".

Tying the stone to stop blood flowing to it?

I glance again at the stone. It doesn't take long for me to conclude that this advice will not help.

"Yes, definitely done", I answer. "Tied tighter than an armadillo's back"

"Good, good", Bernard says.

There's a lengthy pause between us after that. I'd stayed silent because I expected him to continue with more advices but it soon became clear to me that those _were_ all of his advices.

Case in point, Bernard breaks the silence with a question. "Is it still bleeding?"

Sucking a deep breath through my mouth, I look to the stone again and try to paint the calamity into words.

"It's like a waterfall", I answer.

"Are you failing?"

"I think I am".

"Then I suggest escaping the scene! You don't want to be blamed for failing to save someone from a slow, agonizing and honestly preventable death!"

There's a pause and a cough from Bernard before he continues "Messy business".

I ignore his awful remark. Looking back at the stone and the mess its making, it's clear to me that whatever solution I have to stop the bleeding, I'll also need to know what to do with the blood it has already spilled.

"What am I supposed to do with the blood?"

Bernard's tone picks up for the first time since our conversation started. "Depends! Would you like to discard the dirty blood or keep them?"

Despite fearing whatever answer Bernard has, I find myself asking. "Why would I want to keep them?"

"Sell it of course". Bernard answer, a tinge of excitement in his voice. "But of course, you'd need to preserve them correctly. I suggest a fridge as a starter, not a freezer. But a freezer works fine if you're dealing with the cheapskate sorts".

A freezer, that's not a bad idea actually. Maybe I can stop the blood from leaking by throwing this thing into a freezer and freeze the stone to kingdom come. Not to sell it, just contain.

But I definitely can't walk up to the school's kitchen and throw this thing into the freezer, else the school would have blood pudding for the rest of the school year. And however metal that idea sounds I'll not risk placing the stone in such a public place.

While I was mulling over the possible options, Bernard hadn't stopped with his 'advices'. I was busy thinking to myself so I fail to listen to most of them, only catching a few words here and there. Among them are some things about 'German organ harvests' and 'annual Greek pagan rituals'.

Only after a few more minutes of deep thinking do I finally figure out where I might get help.

Without wasting any more precious seconds, I grab my school vest and head out my room, making sure to lock the door behind me before leaving in haste.

In my absence, only a distant static voice of the telephone fills the now silent room.

"Hello, hello? Are you dead?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: this chapter was originally longer but i decided to cut it into two, so expect the next one coming quicker than a quick... quick thing. And i wonder just who will Jerry run to for help in such a sticky situation, must be a real trusty friend!**

 **Also I see that the writer of Little Wizard Academia decided to make stats for Ted. What a weird thing to do. I'm not going to show that here thank you but i believe that this chapter's events easily puts Jerry's int stats a high 14, one point better than that lesser wizard Sempronia!**

 **Just like how I have 190 IQ irl its for real guys truste me**


	22. The Lion, The Witch, And The Freezer

**Author's Notes: I can explain**

 **So some of you might've seen that there's an update of my chapter a few days ago, but quickly your excitement and good mood is quickly broken when you see that there's no new chapters yet!**

 **But if there's no new chapter yet, then why did the fanfic appear on the front page again?**

 **Well that's because at that time I just finished with my rework chapters (they span from chapter 6 to 12, I'll talk about it more later on) and start applying it, replacing old chapters with the new ones.**

 **But then the unexplainable happens, somehow after I replaced a few chapters and deletes a few more, my fanfic seems to reappear on the front page as if I've just updated it!**

 **I have no explanation for that part, it does baffle me and despite free advertisement (yee haw) I nearly lost my marbles because, get this, when you replace or delete a bunch of chapters at the same time, the website needs a few minutes, even hours, to process them all.**

 **So there it was, my fanfic returned to front page but with jumbled and messy chapters that are out of order and a complete jungle. If you noticed I even changed my fanfic description just to write that it's 'currently under maintenance', good old PR damage control.**

 **So there you have it, my reason for your inconvenience. But, we're not here to talk about that all day now do we?**

 **Enjoy the new chapter nerds, sorry for the confusion!**

* * *

Having lost any sense of politeness, I keep rapping the door repeatedly. In any normal scenario I wouldn't dare to do so, I would've feared the chance to attract the attention of the whole dormitory.

Now's not a time of normal scenarios however! And so calls drastic measures!

Soon I begin to hear movement coming from inside the room. The door opens to reveal Amanda whose eyes quickly go wide at the sight of me.

"Oh shit", Was all Amanda had to say. If her way of greeting me indicated anything, it's that now isn't a good time for me to come. I have no time to give that thought any care however, as a more pressing matter is at hand.

"Oh shit to you too, O'Neill". I greet the girl with a frown. "Do all Americans greet people like that?"

Pushing past her, I enter the room without waiting for her permission and begin to look around. Currently, besides Amanda there's only Jasminka in the room who, as expected, is currently eating her snacks.

For some reason, the pink haired girl doesn't seem too surprised at my presence here compared to Amanda. The latter walks up beside me in an awkward manner and with a nervous laugh, the American witch continues. "Hey, hey man, I know this is pretty sudden but there's something you gotta know".

"Fire away", I say offhandedly as I begin to walk around the room with searching eyes.

"Right! So, this might be a pretty hard hitting news for you, so don't freak out, alright?"

"Sure". I answer from under the bed, trying to see if that goofball of a witch is somehow stuck down there. Considering her size it's plausible.

Unfortunately I only found hidden stashes of candies and snacks.

I glance towards Jasminka, the girl only smiles in reply and continue eating her snack.

"Wait, never mind that last thing I said, I shouldn't ask you to not freak out, you have all the reasons to but just don't flip out on me okay?!" Amanda requests, she seems unusually distressed about whatever news she's holding. Unfortunately I'm too preoccupied to let my mind linger on that for long.

"Of course", I answer. I look under the bed Jasminka is currently sitting on and I'm surprised to see nothing underneath it, not even a layer of dust.

That's terribly unusual, I'd expected to find numerous mechanical parts and whatnot.

And why did I expect to find that on the bed where Jasminka's sitting on? Well, it's because despite my urgency, I'm still able to note the peculiar nature of the room.

It's surprising how the three inhabitants of this room have differing care for tidiness and tast in decorations, so much so that I could confidently guess which bed's which with just one look.

Despite the stash of snacks underneath it, Amanda owns the bottom bunk bed, judging from it being the messiest of the three beds and its least… feminine taste in decorations. Jasminka owns the top bunk bed, judging from its clean and comfy tidiness, with colourful pillows and other fluffy items decorating the bed. And finally, Constanze owns the one that Jasminka's currently sitting on, the cleanest and blandest looking bed with minimum change from its default design, a classic look for a humorous German!

"So, what I'm trying to say is… I lost your bracelet, my bad". Amanda says, her words reduced to whispers by the end of it.

I stop my search, straighten my back and look towards Amanda. "Amanda, where's Constanze?"

Amanda blinks a few times, visibly baffled by my lacklustre response. "What? She's on her- I mean, she's not here and no I don't know where she went".

"This is her bed, no?" I ask, pointing to the bed in question.

"Yeah!" Amanda answers. Despite voice beginning to rise in confidence, I still manage to pick up a nervous tone behind it. "So are we cool? Are you cool with this?"

"Sure", I answer offhandedly, earning a relieved sigh from Amanda as a response.

Jasminka who'd been silently watching my endeavour with interest finally breaks her silence and joins in the conversation. Pausing her eating (a gesture that means you're _that_ worthwhile), she asks. "What do you need Constanze for?"

"I need a fridge", I answer in a deadpan manner.

There's a powerful silence that follows my answer. I'd expected a laugh from Amanda, but oddly enough none came from her, not even a snicker.

"I see", the pink haired girl finally says. She says nothing more after that and returns to eating her snack.

Jasminka goes quiet after that, something to be expected when she's eating her snacks. But right now it's clear as day that that I'm in dire need for help and if what happened a few nights ago proved one thing, it's that Jasminka isn't the type to ignore a friend in need.

Something smells fishy, and it's not the fish sticks Jasminka is munching through.

"Jasminka…" I slowly turn to the girl. "Where's your dear friend?"

It may be invisible to the naked eyes, but I saw Jasminka's hand twitch and pause for a split second from reaching her snack, a gesture that might fly over the average person's head but not someone who knows her well.

Jasminka suddenly takes a fistful of her fish sticks and eats it in one bite, denying any chances for her to reply to my question verbally.

I pinch the bridge of my nose and sighs. "Listen, guys, like listen. I don't care for any shenanigans that you guys have, but I really, really, need that girl. Like right now".

The two girls exchange glances before they look to me again with dodgy eyes. After a long wait, both of them finally speaks but at the same time.

"She's sick". Amanda says.

"She went to town". Jasminka also says, earning a face palm from her red haired friend.

That's 'asking for help from your friends ticked permanently off my list.

The room goes silent again as the bean is now properly spilled. I don't even need to ask again as Amanda already gives in. Shrugging, the American witch says. "Fine, fine you got us. She won't like you there but I guess we have no choice".

Before I could register what Amanda's words meant, Jasminka had already stood up and lead me by my hand to Constanze's bed and signals me to get onto it.

I duly follow her direction and awkwardly sit on the edge of the bed, not before taking off my shoes of course, an act that catches Amanda's attention.

I frown. "Please don't tell me you wear your shoes to bed".

Amanda raises a brow. "Do you want to see her or what?"

Amanda then holds up a finger, as if what she'll say next is something vital that needs to be remembered if I want to stay alive. "She won't like interruptions, so try to explain your reason quickly. Good luck!"

I blink a few times, having no idea what her words meant. That uncertainty begins to raise a new sense of alarm in me. "What… what do you mean by that? Jasminka, what did she mean? What's going on?!"

No response came from the pink haired girl, instead, she reaches for the wooden bed post and presses it. The wooden post unexpectedly moves and produces a peculiar mechanical clicking noise, followed closely by deep rumbling from underneath me.

Before I could react, the bed suddenly spins uncontrollably and throws me under! I've expected to feel pain once I land on the floor, but to my complete surprise, the impact never came as a trapdoor opens right underneath the bed!

The last thing I saw and hear before my tumble into darkness is the shrinking vision of Jasminka giving me a good natured wave and Amanda's fleeting laughter as I fall deeper and deeper into the dark.

/-/

I land ungracefully on a chair and the first thing I notice after I break out of my shock is that I'm now in an entirely different room.

Warm lights hang on the walls of this wide room, with tall bookshelves leaned against the wall that peculiarly has no windows whatsoever, only having a few air vents are scattered across the ceiling to provide air ventilation.

I realize that, wherever I am, it's underground.

At the end of the room is a wide sketching table with a large blueprint secured on it. Constanze stands in front of it with a book in hand and a white cup in another. Her shocked expression is enough to tell me that she didn't expect a visit, more so from me.

I push myself up from the chair and approach the surprised girl. "Constanze! I've been looking all over for you!"

But before I could even take a few steps forward, I'm quickly met with pain in my leg.

Looking down, I find a menacing gang of Stanbots, all huddled together in a tight defensive formation, separating me from their master.

"Go away, go away!" The Stanbots chant in unison, throwing their angry little arms in the air while others point accusingly at me.

A commendable but easy obstacle to avoid, one quick leap and I've successfully landed past the Stanbots and with one short uninterrupted walk later I finally arrive in front of Constanze.

"I need your help, Constanze" I say in one quick breath, arching my back so I meet eye level with the girl.

Constanze is apparently still surprised by my arrival here. She only blinks a few times and fails to make any response to my request.

Trying to get the 'words' out of her, I grab her shoulders and begin shaking her. "I need a fridge, wait no, a freezer. It doesn't need to be big but enough to put lots of jars in it, or just one but massive jar".

While I was busy trying to negotiate with Constanze, some of the Stanbots have already scaled up my body and now continues to attack me in various places, all while they're chanting aggressively "Go away, go away!"

"Ouch! Nasty little buggers!" It's not much, but done repeatedly, their attacks are beginning to bother me.

The Stanbots chants must've pulled Constanze out of her dreamland, as she suddenly snaps out of her stunned state and shakes her head with furrowed brows. She continues to pull out a notebook seemingly out of thin air and pushes it near my face. On it are the words 'can't!'

I groan and try again. "Please, Constanze. I really, really, really need your help here. If you help me I promise I'll pay you back someday, anything you want!"

The Stanbots presses their attack, tugging and pulling at my clothes and hair with reckless abandon. My legs begin to buckle against the weight. Any attempt to discard the Stanbots are met with failure as if one falls or thrown off, another would immediately take its place.

"Cut off one head and two more shall take its place!" The Stanbots chant menacingly. I could swear I saw some of them hold both their hands up when they chant that, like some sort of secret salute.

The whole time I'm being attacked Constanze hadn't said or done anything, but not for a bad reason. Surprisingly, she seems to be seriously considering my bizarre request. Deep in thought, the little witch's silence and patient thinking greatly contrast the scene in front of her in an almost comical manner.

As the onslaught continues and just before I thought all hope is lost, Constanze finally lifts her eyes to meet mine and nods. The last traces of her hesitation long gone, replaced now with that determined look in her green eyes that I'm beginning to grow accustomed with.

In an instant, all the Stanbots cease their attacks and look at the girl in synthetic disbelieve, myself (organically) included.

I immediately shake the Stanbots off me, sending them spiralling onto the floor in heaps of metal before I take Constanze's hand in mine and begin shaking it so vigorously that it made her drop the book she was holding and nearly making her spill her cup's contents.

"Thank you, thank you thank you thank you! I'll never forget this. I'll buy you a meal someday! No, I'll buy you two meals, three, a whole lifetime worth of food if you want!"

Constanze could only pout and grunt in annoyance at my endless handshaking but doesn't bother to pull away from it.

/-/

I wipe the sweat from my forehead, breathing out a deep sigh of relieve as I lean my back on the brand new freezer courtesy of Constanze. The freezer was moved to the front of my room by a generous Jasminka, who's unexpectedly stubborn when I told her that I can push it inside myself.

After careful negotiation, which involves food, she finally gives up and leaves the freezer at my front door. I had to push the freezer inside myself just to avoid giving Jasminka a shock by showing her the current state of my room.

I noticed that the stone was still bleeding when I returned, but not nearly as worse as it was when I left the room. Not taking any chances, the moment electricity runs into the freezer, I threw that troublemaker into a jar (RIP jar that I'll never ever use again) and shoved it into the freezer.

Good news comes quickly as the stone completely stops its bleeding and is now sleeping soundly inside the freezer.

All's well that ends well.

Looking around my room, I see half of my floor is still covered in blood. Most of them had dried during my absence, which is gross, yet some of them curiously retain their liquid form.

I note how the still liquid blood runs and seeps between the seams of the floorboards in one direction, as if it's drained somewhere.

I follow the bloody stream and end up facing my wardrobe. Opening it, I'm pleased to see that the blood didn't seep into the furniture or any of my clothes stored in it.

Wherever the blood runs to, it runs somewhere underneath my wardrobe to God knows where.

I make a mental note to someday check what's underneath this wardrobe, but for now I think I've exerted enough energy for the fiascos I faced today.

Now, I wonder if the cleaning service gnomes will be willing to clean this up, though I highly doubt that 'cleaning an unholy amount of blood' is part of their job description when they signed up.

I suppose I should give them a mighty incentive to convince them to clean it and at the same time silence their tongues. I sure hope they'll be discreet with my predicament if I give them enough tips!

I make another mental note atop of my previous mental note that I have to start saving my money so I could bribe the gnomes generously.

Well, that's bribery ticked off of the ever growing list of rules I'm breaking in this school.

Moving on!

So let's get this straight first. The blood from my wound got into the stone and it somehow made it throw a fit and vomit blood all over my room.

Last time I checked, the stone is supposed to act as some sort of catalyst, to turn blood into magic just as wands turn our inner magic into spells. But why did I get… this?

To say that I was not and am not freaking out would be a lie. All the information I've learnt; about the stone being a versatile weapon that runs on blood and that it possibly killed at least a few thousands in the past, should've made me more than ready for this moment. But so far I've failed to resist the urge to freak out.

B-but wait! I shouldn't be panicking in this situation right? I mean, wasn't _I_ the one who'd been meaning to try experiments on the stone?

Sitting on the desk is my rotary telephone, one reach of the hand and I can make a quick call to Mr Wright, a responsible thing to do in my part. And on the other side of the desk is my stack of books relating to blood magic, conveniently placed there in this moment of conflicting decisions to purposely fill my heart with naughty desires.

Yarr, the age old conflict between giving in to your rational fear or let your curiosity kill you.

'Don't tell Mr Wright about it!' a voice, squeaky in nature, suddenly pops into existence on my left. 'Yes it would be the responsible thing to do, yes it would be the safest thing to do, but wouldn't that just show him that you're incapable of responsibly keeping the stone safe? Maybe he'd lose so much faith in you that he'll take the stone away'

"Oh, nobody wants that now do we?" I mutter to myself.

'Tell Mr Wright about it!' a second squeaky voice, now on my right, pops into existence too and exclaims. 'Weren't you the one who despised having it from the start? Weren't you the one who wanted nothing with the stone? You have to be responsible and rational, so you should tell Mr Wright about it! If he does decide to take the stone away from you, then so be it! It's the right thing to do!'

"That sounds reasonable, terribly reasonable".

'And miss out an opportunity to have an awesome magical artefact for yourself and yours alone?' The left voice retorts. 'As far as we're concerned, now with the stone's original owner gone, you're as good as its newest rightful owner! It's your rightful loot! Just don't tell Mr Wright for a week or more, use that time to see how this will play out. Who knows, the stone holds some secrets within secrets…"

"Morbid and cruel, but that's how the world works, I guess? And I think you're suggesting patience which is a good thing, right?"

'No! That's not the right thing to do!' The right voice cries again. 'A week wouldn't be enough to experiment on the stone to know its full potential, knowing how little free time and your own ability as a wizard! Give it a month or more!'

Despite being nothing but a figment of my imagination, I could feel that the left voice is currently giving the right voice an incredulous look. 'I thought you're supposed to be our good conscience?!'

'Life is unexpected and varied my friend, that's what makes it interesting', the right voice responds.

And just like that, pop goes my inner voices, leaving me with lingering ideas for me to think about.

Before I could decide on this crucial decision, my telephone suddenly rings, properly startling me and making me flinch. The adrenaline rushing through my body earlier must've made me jumpy, good thing no one saw that.

A familiar bubbling noise appears before I could answer the phone.

"Yes, yes", I sigh. "Very funny, Francis".

A familiar voice, covered with static and hindered by bad reception, ring from the other side of the phone. "H-hello, Mr Franklin, it's me Mr Wright".

I lift the handle up to my ear and pause for a second. Despite knowing we're only connected by voice, I find myself instinctively smiling.

"Hello there".

"Hello to you too?" Mr Wright replies in a bemused manner. "A-anyway, I'm sorry for this irregular call but… you wouldn't be having any sort of trouble with the 'you know what', right?"

"Absolutely not, why would you think of that?"

"Well I'm not sure myself, just an odd hunch I'm feeling". Mr Wright explains, taking a few hesitant pauses before continuing. "It's those kinds of hunches you get when you're far away but you know something somewhere went wrong".

I fidget on the spot but manage to keep my smile still, as if doing that is vital to keep the façade up. "I-I see".

"Well!" Mr Wright exclaims, surprising me with abrupt change of tone. "It appears that you're not what my hunch is referring to, it must be something else entirely! Forgive me for this call boy, I'm sure I'm interrupting your school activities with this".

"Positively! I was about to do something school related before your call".

Oddly, there's a pause that came from Mr Wright after that, I somehow know he's having trouble on whatever he wants to say next.

Mr Wright resumes, his voice more sullen than before. "Also, Franklin, about London…"

"You want to talk about that, Mr Wright?" I ask, my smile briefly fading in surprise that Mr Wright wants to bring this up right now. "Amadeus had already told me about that and now's not a…."

I glance at the mess behind me before answering. "…Now's not really a suitable time".

Although now that I think about it, this is the first time we've talked since I left London, which is odd considering all the bizarre happenings that had happened since we parted ways.

But it's not entirely a lie that it's not the time for that, I just fail to see the benefits of revisiting that unpleasant part of my life in this moment of pleasant delirium, from a phone call no less.

"What if they rig the phone lines", I joke, light enough to not sound like I don't want the conversation to continue. Mr Wright might've noticed it as he quickly makes up his mind and agrees.

"Right, right. I suppose now's not the time".

The old man was quick to change his tone, after clearing his throat and a short-second pause, Mr Wright continues with his usual light-heartedness. "Well then! I'll leave you to your businesses, good luck, Franklin".

The phone call finally ends. I put the phone onto its cradle and let my hand rest on it for a good minute, trying to grasp my breath slowly and wrap my mind around what I just did. A smile, now almost inhuman all things considered, still present on my lips.

I have no idea why I'm still wearing this smile.

/-/

The next day we're having another class of magical… something. Whatever it was it got Akko pretty riled up because apparently Diana aced the class, as usual, and that seems to unsettle Akko, as usual.

Among the three girls, Akko stands furthest away from me around the alchemical table in an attempt to distance herself away from me, something she'd been trying to do whenever she has the opportunity lately.

Looks like the tables have turned? And it's not the other team's table beside us that's literally been turned over by a failed concoction that went explosive.

Riddle me this: If someone attempts to concoct an explosive potion but critically failed in the process, would the potion explode and would it be bigger or smaller than the original intend? Same question applies to poisons.

Lotte had been trying her best to calm her agitated friend, but, as usual, her attempts fell on deaf ears. Meanwhile Sucy who's standing right beside me had been silent the whole class, her usual snide and remarks doesn't show at all today as she busies herself with her alchemical works while being beset on all sides by idiots.

The normalcy of the day contrasts the bizarre events that had unfolded yesterday, and naturally, I don't let my mind stay in this class, rather let it wander on much more important things while absently stirring my stomach relieving potion with vacant eyes.

"Right? Jerry?" Akko asks, leaning forward on the table so she could see me.

Now what am I supposed to do with the stone now? Like I know what I want to do with it, thanks to my little personal group discussion the other day, but how exactly am I going to start this?

So far through my readings, I could only get a few hints and snippets on how blood magic spells are practised. For all the extensive information I've received on blood magic, none of them really mentioned much on the practise side.

Most of the things I read about blood magic are its history and legends, which I read anyway because… goddammit, I'm so easily distracted!

Akko's previous semi-cordial tone quickly changes to that of annoyance and irritation. "Fine! Keep staring at your potion and ignore me".

There's another good question: just what will I use for my blood magic? Human blood?

No, that's too far off and unnecessary. Remembering what I read, some magical creature's blood could work as a substitute or even work better than human blood in some cases.

Now with that in mind, I can't just dart an endangered Sumatran tiger and bring it here just to take a few bags of fresh blood! The best course of action, if blood magic could work with it, is to use preserved blood.

Akko's continued rants continue over my head, with her voice raised more and more, it's no wonder that some students turn their heads on the commotion. "You think I need your attention? I don't need anyone's attention! Pervert".

That would mean I'll need a batch of them readily available for my experiments. I'd be fortunate if the school stockpiles them, but in the case that they don't, I'll need to get my hands dirty and kill a few swines myself and preserve their blood myself.

But that would mean a _bit_ of alchemical mumbo jumbo will be involved, which isn't my strongest subject!

As if to put a case in my point, Lotte yelps once she notices what I'm currently doing. "J-Jericho! Y-your potion!"

I'm briefly snapped back into reality and look down to the potion I've been absently working on, or rather, the empty bowl that now has a massive hole in its bottom that continues past the table and down the floorboards.

"No, no, I was intending this to happen, see" I say offhandedly, grabbing a new undamaged bowl and taking new ingredients for me to waste again.

Lotte seems somewhat unconvinced with my excuse, but she has too much troublemaker in her hands to worry too much about me.

Akko however, seems to enjoy the idea of me being as weak as her on alchemy class. With her finger pointed accusingly towards me, she cries. "Hah! See? I'm not the only one that did that!"

I wonder if I can get some help in this endeavour. If I want to get this thing going, I need someone who won't make acid when they try to make a stomach relieving potion.

Well technically, there won't be any pain in the stomach if there's no stomach to begin with.

Oh dear, I realize I just made acid, I'm afraid I have no permit to do so!

Anyhow, so far, the people who're aware about the stone's existence are me, Aaron, Mr Wright, Wang, and Amadeus. Among them, those who actually know that I still have it in my possession are Aaron and Mr Wright, which as far as I'm aware, not alchemically inclined.

"Dammit stop ignoring me! So annoying!" Akko shouts furiously, slamming her hand on the alchemical table and sending some tools toppling.

Just who's skilled enough, and at the same time trustworthy enough to help me?

As I dwell on these thoughts, I almost fail to notice the cloud of powder that flies before my eyes. The powder doesn't settle in the air for long however, as it suddenly shimmers and burns out mid-air in a spectacular fashion.

Sucy, as usual, had been ignoring her teammate's assignment to work on her own craft. She's currently mixing various exotic ingredients into her own pistil and processes it with great speed but without sacrificing care. How her hand moves and her calm yet focused eyes shows just how experienced she is with her work.

With a flick of her fingers, the fire of the burner sparks to life and Sucy's concoction begins to bubble as the heat rises. The concoction's surprisingly woody and resinous smell wafts through the air, capturing the attention of several students who turn their heads to its source.

A sprinkle of grounded ingredients and the concoction begins to shift in colour in the most mesmerizing way, its previously thick and dull colour begins to glow as what appears to be live fire lights up inside it.

The whole scene paints itself like a goddess creating life itself, or of a Valkyrie who captivates the entire opera by herself. The performance ends when Sucy blows onto the burner, bringing the flame and her potion making to an end with a satisfying result.

The girl however, lacks any form of emotion as she looks at her commendable creation, only gazing at it silently with an unreadable expression.

Sucy notices my stare and replies with an annoyed frown that pulls me away out of my daze. The pale witch doesn't say a word and instead returns her attention to her finished product.

At this point, Akko's yells and rants had completely fallen on deaf ears as I'm lost again in the thoughts Sucy's potion making evoked in me.

Now I just need to know how to negotiate.

I wonder if Sucy takes bribe money pretty well.

* * *

 **Author's Notes season 2, Egypt Hen: So I mentioned that I finished my rework chapters, they span from chapter 6 till 15, but the crucial ones, the ones that I remade from the ground up and are now completely different and (hopefully) better than the old ones are chapter 6 till 10.**

 **While in general, rework chapters are done to expand the old story, these rework actually serves to reduce them, make them more effective and compact and make things easier to understand.**

 **There are changes that might effect the next chapters that might confuse you if you don't read those rework chapters, but they're mostly more trivial matters and interaction bits, nothing too crucial to the vanilla plot point.**

 **They're a not bad read even if you've already read the original. If you're done reading this chapter and wants more misadventures from your favourite male only OC in the lwa fandom, then I suggest reading those rework chapters. Trust me it's a whole different experience than the old ones!**

 **So to sum it up: rework chapters are 6 till 15, critically changed are 6 till 10, you can read or ignore them it's up to you, won't confuse you a great deal if you don't!**

 **Also yes, I'm aware that in my last chapter's author's notes I mentioned that this chapter will come, and I quote, 'quicker than a quick… thing'. Sorry for not delivering on that promise! I was busy finishing those darned rework chapters, but they're all done now so I'm all yours from now on, for better or for worse.**

 **So finally, don't forget to hit that like button, smash that subscribe button, ask Alexa to play Despacito two and restore the former republic of Yugoslavia.**

 **Leave a review it helps me a lot- speaking of reviews!**

 **To you, guests, who've generously reviewed my fanfic, I love y'all, but if you're asking questions inside your review then kindly use an account to post your review so I can _actually_ reply to your questions. I don't want you to think I'm but an arrogant author that ignores his fans once I hit off to international level! I'm a benevolent ruler that wants nothing but to hear your thoughts on my fanfic, good or bad, bad is even better because that means you're actually paying attention to the bad things and is brave enough to say that to my virtual face!**

 **But nonetheless! I shall answer your anonymous questions!**

 **To the one asking me about a BNHA x LWA fanfic; its tempting, very tempting, considering the similarities they share. But there are multiple reasons on why I won't be making that anytime soon: 1) I'm not that invested in BNHA compared to LWA, even though I like the show I don't like it enough to make me want to write about it. That reason alone should be enough in general. 2) I wouldn't want to divide my already diminishing attention to a second fic, not while this one's up and running!**

 **I think there's a BNHA x LWA fanfic already, but its unfortunately in a foreign alien language!**

 **To the alien guy who's asking me about ships: Absolutely! Who? Like hell I'm going to tell you!**

 **Its basically a sin to make a male OC and put it inside an all-girls story and not write any romance into the story, its just not right! But who will I pick for that role? Only time will tell my friend 3**

 **Thanks a lot for you two's reviews and kind words! Very kind indeed and I hope you'll stay for more.**

 **So there you have it, review, like, favourite, and I'll see you guys, in the future.**

 **P.S. you might notice the growing frequency of the words '「bizarre」' and '「menacing」' being used and you might not 「stand」 those kinds of words, but you gotta 「walk like an Egyptian」 it off and 「yare yare daze」 out of, it y'know?**

* * *

That night, when cold winds begin to stir and the moon touches its highest point, a deep, resonating sound echoes through a dark cave way hidden deep underneath the chapel at the base of the New Moon Tower. Its the howling of the wind, blowing through the deep and intricate tunnel ways composed of blue stones.

Deep in the cave, there's an opening where the cold howling wind doesn't touch, and there on the bed of the cave lies crescent shaped leaves, scattered, erratic, and still.

Yet, despite the absence of wind, the leaves begin to stir and move.

Its illogical, almost magical, its as if they've been awakened by something.


	23. The Beginning of the Field Trip

**Author's Notes: Heyo it's your boy, me, the writer. Before we start, I need to say that this chapter is originally just one 10.000 words chapter that I decided to cut into two. I like cutting long chapters into two so that while you wait for the second half to finish you have the first half ready to read and entertain y'all. But, sometimes I feel like it's a bit cheaty and scummy to make it so because when you cut one chapter into two, the first half often doesn't have much punch or purpose to compared to keeping it intact.**

 **I just want to post this first half early so you guys have something to read until the second half comes up, which will come pretty soon mind you (I said something similar as this two chapters back, and I'm aware I did not deliver).**

 **So forgive but don't forget if this one doesn't feel like it has any strong purpose or clear plot going on compared to if it's just one 10.000 words chapter, which I feel like some of you won't enjoy that since last chapter things seem to pick up and now we have this?**

 **Mehhh, just read it first will ya? And reviews, follows, favourites will be greatly appreciated!**

* * *

 _ **Part 1 - Drained, parched, exhausted, discombobulated, and bamboozled.**_

"You just can't let your guard down, Michelle".

The young teacher looks to her senior. This is the first time in the whole trip that the stern professor shared any words with her. Close to Michelle's expectation, it's one of warning and worry.

Michelle shrugs. "I always thought girls on a fieldtrip are less prone to bad things happening than boys".

Miss Finnelan sighs. "Believe me, there's one group in particular that'll make you think otherwise. And it'll be a domino effect, mind you".

Michelle raises a brow. "Are they really that bad?"

At this point, every teacher is already aware of the dreaded red team, it just took Michelle longer to believe the rumours.

"They are", the senior professor answers. "But they always find ways to somehow exceed my expectations- high expectations".

"That bad, huh?" Michelle muses. "Well, I was planning on watching over my little apprentice in case he messes up, but if you're asking nicely, I'll rethink my priorities".

Miss Finnelan lets out a short sigh, she doesn't try to hide her relief and gratitude. "Please do, I don't think I've the energy to keep up with those girls, at least not today".

She searches her surrounding once she's reminded of something. "Speaking of troublemakers, where's he?"

Michelle chooses to ignore the professor's choice of word. She puts a finger to her chin and says. "I'm not 100% sure but I'm willing to bet my sandwich that he's still in the bus catching sleep. I'll find someone to fetch him".

They both eye the crowd of students. Most of them are spread across the open green field, taking in the beauty of the forest and enjoying their time here while they can because they know that once the teachers come with the assignments, goodbye goes the fun time.

Michelle points to one particular group in the crowd. "What about that girl right there?"

Miss Finnelan follows Michelle's direction and quickly frowns at her choice. "If you plan on making a mess out of the simple act of fetching another student, then by all means choose Miss O'Neill".

Michelle's brows arch and she retracts her finger and muses. "Hoo? So that's Amanda".

Miss Finnelan raises a curious brow. "What's the matter, Michelle?"

Michelle waves the matter away. "Nothing, I'm just thinking that you'll send your right hand girl now, yes? If you don't mind me asking, I see the pattern that you send her all the time when its anything related about him, is there any reason?"

"I take it you already have your own guesses", Miss Finnelan answers as she crosses her arms. "I don't just choose her to deal with him just because she's reliable, I entrusted her with a duty ever since he stepped foot on the academy".

"You wanted her to spy on him?"

Miss Finnelan actually lets out an amused chuckle at Michelle's bluntness. "In a sense, yes. I just want someone trustworthy like her watch over someone so untrustworthy as him".

"Be careful", Michelle warns. "You might give him the wrong idea if you keep making it seem like she's always with him on her own accord".

"That would be terribly embarrassing on his part". Miss Finnelan nods with an amused smile.

"*"

I sit up and felt my body tense. My head is still spinning from the wild dream I just had that it takes a moment to finally get a grip on my surroundings.

The first thing I notice after my head has settled is the warmth the sunlight that gleams through the bus windows provides, and the distant lively chatter of students that are outside. They quickly remind me of the 'fun' activity the school had in store for us today: a field trip/study to a forest.

I must've fallen asleep on our way there, and it wasn't a pleasant sleep either, not to mention the abrupt awakening out of my slumber that doesn't help ease the spinning sensation in my head.

"You really shouldn't do that", I say without looking up to the girl. "I just had the most… bizarre dream, Diana".

Diana opens her mouth but whatever she wanted to say was cut short as I interrupt her and say what I dreamt without her asking. "I dreamt I was a witch, not a wizard", I begin with a slow, steady breath. "A-and I was studying in Luna Nova but I felt like it's in the past because the teachers are like the Nine Olde Witches. But along the way, things get all convoluted and I don't exactly know why but the school faced like a scandal so they had to do these weird things because some students went missing. But then things get super weird and the government demanded the school to do weird things like fully replacing their staffing rosters from fairies to clones of David Bowie and Mick Jaeger".

I turn and look up to the girl slowly. "They all dance so good".

There're no words that immediately came from Diana after that, she just stares at me and my explanation without any readable expression.

It was after a few seconds have passed and she's certain I have nothing more to add does she make her response. "I see…" the girl hums her answer. "Well, if you've… recovered from your nightmare, then I suggest following me to the others, the teachers and students are already waiting for you".

"I have, I have", I say as I slowly push myself up from the seat. "Just show me the way".

I notice Diana's trailing gaze as I use my hand for support, I follow it and quickly understood. "Yep, I bandaged it myself this morning. The first one I did was super messy and blood sort of spilt from it, so I had to replace it this morning".

Diana was about to say something but I don't give her the chance. "It wasn't your fault it was my lousy bandaging, don't worry about it. And even if it is your fault, trust me it didn't even hurt one bit so no hard feelings, both of us".

Yeah right, it actually hurt like hell and I have a little special hate for you now, Diana. Honestly the next time we spar I'll be sure to accidentally maim you. You think I'm going to go easy on you just because you're a girl? Hah! Too bad for you, perfect princess, you lost your privilege the moment you made me bleed.

"Still, I owe you an apology for injuring you during practice", Diana says as she rubs her hand. "I never expected my spell to inflict such damage with a practice wand".

"Faulty wand, I guess. Good thing you weren't aiming at my head then", I joke with a smile, it soon fades however and is replaced with a hesitant frown. "Did you?"

"*"

The fresh forest air quickly hits me once we stepped out the bus, I would slow down along the way to the others just to breathe in the clean air and enjoy the atmosphere.

I must seem I'm enjoying this, which only makes my next words come as conflicting, if Diana's raised brow is any indication. "Did I ever told you that I hate school fieldtrips?" I ask without facing her. "I never enjoyed any I went to when I was in elementary school".

"Elementary school?" Diana muses. "I'm curious, where did you go?"

"If you're wondering if I went to a normal or wizard school, you could just ask", I say. I'm surprised to find a puzzled look on Diana's face as her response. However, her confusion soon fades once Diana puts the pieces together herself.

When she does speak again, Diana lowers her voice, curiosity present yet guarded in her voice. "I might be mistaken here, but you're saying you're not a wizard by birth?

"You're not", I answer and shove my hands inside my pockets, gratefully noting that Diana gives me some time to pause and gather my answer. "Not gifted, or descended. My family does find work among witches and wizards, but my parents and theirs didn't practice any form of magic".

I'm left wondering why I'm saying all this to her. Yet, even after the words had left my mouth, I didn't feel like I usually do when I say these things to other people. Maybe its Diana's level headedness and her unusual wisdom that encourages me to trust her with what otherwise would be a secret I keep from most people.

"That's a surprise", Diana responds. I'm genuinely surprised to find no ill in her tone but friendly curiosity. "That means you're the same case as Akko, althought… you're far different from her altogether".

I hide my amusement well and guard the growing warmth in my chest very carefully. With guarded excitement, I ask. "How so?"

"Well you're most definitely more competent than she is in magic, if our practice session the other day revealed anything. And if I'm not mistaken, you're the one who came up with that clever tactic, didn't you?"

I rub the back of my head and my eyes trail away, truly at a loss of words. Out of all the reactions I'd expected, this kind is one of many I'm not prepared to deal with. "I've… had more training than her, that's all really. And I have the habit of not trying to be flashy and stay subtle instead, which means that when I fail at something no one would even notice, unlike her you know?"

I face away from the girl as I feel warmth beginning to build on my cheeks. The reason for that is simple really, I'm just not used to someone complementing me, from a capable and respected witch like Diana no less. Still turning away from the girl, I say again. "As for the training part, I did a lot, in books and in practice. Michelle and I spent gruelling years trying to push the magic out of me".

"I often forgot you two have a history together", Diana muses. She doesn't need to ask for me to be urged to answer.

"No one in my family, or any around them, could teach me anything. She offered a way out". I answer, keeping everything short and simple in what otherwise Diana expected to be a long story. That attempt seems obvious for Diana, as she seems to understand and doesn't dwell on that part of my story any longer.

A soft smile graces the girl's lips- it doesn't help with my confidence at all. "In any way, that sounds impressive. Akko could learn a thing or two from you".

"Seriously, stop". I turn to the girl and say, embarrassed desperation in my voice as I almost regret telling Diana all this.

"Well, I just understand the difficulties it must've caused you", Diana answers, her smile still present. "I can't say much but that I understand how difficult it is to start from square one".

Whatever Diana wanted to say next I never hear, as a pair of familiar voices reaches our ears, crashing to our conversation to a stop. They're, to my dismay, came from Diana's satellites that are Hannah England and Barbara Parker.

The feeling seemed mutual, if the two girls' soured expressions once they see me beside Diana are any indication.

Barbara was quick to slide between me and Diana, separating the two of us as she starts to cling to the blonde girl. "Diana, we've been looking all over for you!"

Hannah joins her friend. "Miss Finnelan's been looking all over for you, she has something urgent to talk about with you!"

"She does?", Diana asks. "I wasn't aware of this"

The two girls nod eagerly. "I'm afraid she needs you immediately", Hannah says.

"Like, really quickly", Barbara adds.

Diana briefly glances at me, as if she needs permission or excuse to leave. "Well don't look at me". I say.

Silver lining when there's one, with Diana gone, the flatteries stopped too. Hannah and Barbara however, stay here beside me, maintaining a warm smile and wave towards Diana as she shrinks in the distance. When she is out of eyesight and earshot, the girls simultaneously turn to me.

"Alright, drop the act", Barbara says as she crosses her arms.

I blink confusedly at her sudden commanding tone. "What do you mean?"

Hannah steps forward, forcing me to retreat a few paces. She's a sly smirk as she says, "You think we didn't hear anything you said?"

Oh god, these two heard all that. I didn't intend anyone other than Diana to know about that right now, even then I didn't entirely know why I told her all that.

I know it matters little to others, but for witches I heard some, if not most of them, takes matters like pureblood witch culture very seriously. Not to mention how much of a pureblood Hannah is, or so she kept reminding me since long ago and still do. she also shown her distaste for first-gen witches as she's clearly shown from the way she treats someone like Akko—someone like me.

I keep my mouth open yet no words come, still wondering what kind of words I'm supposed to say here. The silence is two sided until Barbara continues to speak again. "My, to think he's been hiding it all this whole time, a first generation wizard!"

"Must've been so desperate to blend in with the others that he kept it a secret", Hannah adds, speaking as if I'm not right in front of her.

"Luna Nova must be pretty desperate to have not one but two students like him, they've been letting too many commoners in".

"Oh, so that's why you couldn't ride your broom back then!" Hannah concludes, she doesn't need my response to know she's right. She already smiles smugly then.

The more I listen to them talk, the less I want to say anything back. Knowing them, it'll just be a conversation not worth my time and patience.

With a silent sigh, I pull my wizard hat down and leave them without another word or look, ignoring their behind my back ramblings as I leave them.

And here I thought it's finally time people start to know of my nature. For each one good person, apparently there're two terrible ones…

Hostility to non-purebloods, why dwell on it when it's nothing new? Though what puzzles me from the very beginning to this day is why witches, a weakened and declining group, despises people like Akko—someone so passionate to be a part of them, so much.

I kick a pebble along the dirt road, asking myself why I even bother with these thoughts again.

"*"

Lively chatter quickly settles to hushed whispers and the sound of hurried footsteps, the students are quick to gather in order once Michelle and Miss Finnelan arrives to bring them their assignments.

A bushy moustached goblin steps ahead of the two teachers and place a simple wooden crate in front of them, Michelle then stands atop of it and begins her announcement. "Right, listen well, ladies and gentleman. Today we're all gathered here in this blessed day of Wednesday to partake in an awe exciting field trip activity…"

After a good long paragraph, Michelle finally goes on to the part of the assignment that actually matters, unfortunately it's not something good.

With a radiant smile, too radiant when relaying such announcement, Michelle continues. "… and so, in an effort to break you all of your comfort zones, we'll assign each of you new random teammates for this one assignment. Having reliable teammates that you've known well is good, but sometimes, you'll find yourself teaming up with people you're not used to".

I do hear a few groans following that, they're eclipsed however by the hushed excited whispers among the majority of the students, I'm part of the former minority.

The same moustached goblin brings a large box forward for all to see, Michelle reaches inside it and procures a little pixie fairy. "This is how the teams will be decided, inside this box are pixies, students will be teamed up with others who received a pixie of the same colour".

Well, at least we don't get to pick our own teammates. No matter how fun that would be, we all know how horrible things will be when such power is granted to the wrong hands- the students.

Normally, I might be the anomaly by being the teamless runt of the litter, but I sort of enjoyed it. I never liked working in a team, in group projects especially. It's not necessarily because I'm not a team player, it's just that most of the teammates I've ever had in my live had been disappointing at most.

But... that's what a bad teammate would say~

I feel my eye suddenly twitch as I remembered exactly what made me hate group projects- that one chemistry project I had in elementary school.

That bastard Miko, cursed thrice his name, and his same scores as mine despite his… _zero_ contribution to the team.

"Right, questions anyone?" Michelle asks once she finishes her explanations.

Nothing comes from the student, until Akko raises a hand eagerly.

Michelle clasps her hands together. "Right! Then let's get to it".

Under the watchful guidance of Miss Finnelan, the students waste no time dilly dallying and quickly form a line. One by one, they step forward to have their try on the pixies that will reveal their fated teammates.

When Diana's moment finally comes, all the other students, especially Akko, watches the girl intently. Having her on their team even for this one assignment would make it considerably easier, and a great honour I imagine!

Under the watchful gazes of the other students, Diana managed to pluck a beautiful golden pixie, much to everyone's amazement.

Weaponised luck. Is that girl good at everything?

"Amazing, Diana!" Hannah was quick to shower her with praise, followed by Barbara's that honestly I don't even need to note what hers was considering how redundant it is.

The two of them caught my gaze and quickly narrows their eyes at me while Diana wasn't looking- It's enough to compel me to look away in annoyance.

It's only safe for me to look back when it's Amanda's turn to step forward. Without a trace of hesitation, the red haired witch reaches inside the box and pulls out her pixie. It is one of a sickly yellow colour, nothing worthy of note other than that it sucks.

When it's finally my time to step forward, I notice faint whispers coming from the crowd of students and I note how a few students pause their activities to watch me, obviously because they're so eager for me to pull the same pixie as theirs and join their team.

I suppose when the demanded item is scarce, any quality will do for the demander.

I sure hope I won't be teamed up with Miss 'throwing a fit at Diana every 12 seconds', I know she has her merits (somewhere) but aside from the nightmarish strategic disadvantage in putting her and I in the same team, I'm also not in the mood for her and the constant ear wrecking ramblings that comes pre-packaged with her, not to mention her open hostility at me as of late.

I'm considering the prospects of being teamed up with Amanda, but I fear that despite the potential fun she'll bring to the table, I find it hard to believe she'll bring anything else.

I suppose what I want after all is to be teamed up with Diana. Aside from how pleasant she is compared to the others, she's a very capable and reliable girl which means I can slack off in this field trip while she singlehandedly solve every problems that come our way.

Yes, totally no other personal factors that made me feel like so, absolutely professional.

With this newfound goal, I reach for the box and with unprecedented confidence pull a pixie straight out of its roots. Dangling between my fingers now is a furtive brown pygmy pixie that lazily snoozes and disregards me.

I could hear muffled giggles and whispers from the students.

Before I get the chance to look for my new teammates, I was stopped by a passing Amanda. "Heeh, I was hoping I'd get teamed up with you", the girl says with a carefree smile. "I wanted to slack off while you do the whole work".

I shake my head disapprovingly. "That's a so terrible work ethic. I'd never, ever, thought of anything close to that".

Amanda shrugs. "At least I'm honest".

Though I don't let it show, I'm really glad Amanda came to talk to me. Not only because I need something to lift my spirits after that bitter encounter with Hannah and Barbara, but I also feel like it's been awhile since it's just the two of us sharing words.

I don't think I'll ever admit it but I'm glad that Amanda didn't change one bit after everything that happened between us.

This might sound unusual, bizarre almost, but I don't like how some people change and things get awkward after certain heartfelt… friendship thingies happened between us. Amanda is just… Amanda, she's just the usual idiot I've come to be accustomed with.

I let my eyes wander to the crowd of students, most still scrambling to find their new teammates. I note how the majority of them seem excited while one or two students seem nervous about the change of teammates, something I can empathize with. But Amanda is just here with me, loitering around with no sense of urgency. "Found your teammates yet?" I ask.

Amanda rests her hands behind her head, she answers nonchalantly. "They'll search for me, why bother?"

"What about Jasminka and Constanze?"

"I think Jas got teamed up with Blair and that girl from the journalism club or something, I forgot which one. Constanze got teamed up with Lotte and Barbara, imagine that!"

"That sounds like hell regardless", I remark. "Anyhow, I haven't found mine".

A mischievous smile made its way to Amanda's lips and immediately I know I won't like anything she says afterwards, that distaste is empowered when she goes on to wrap her arm around my shoulder. "See, this is why I'm here right now"

"Ho boy here we go", I mutter to myself. I'm surprised by her sudden… physical contact that I almost fail to make a response. "What are you talking about this time?"

"What am I? I'm just curious who will be teamed up with the alpha male here, the lion of the pack, the head honcho. I mean, I bet there're girls around here that'll kill to be your teammate!"

I feel my cheeks grow warm immediately. With wide eyes I try to argue. "Amanda, this isn't-"

I quickly slide her arm off my shoulder. "This is a group assignment, not a date. I mean yeah I wouldn't mind if I got teamed up with someone… worthwhile, but the fact is it's a terrible business idea to work with someone you're in relationship in or a part of your family, or anyone who emotionally affects your focus and objective judgement in any way. So no, I don't hope to be teamed up with anyone interesting no matter how exciting it would be", I state in a matter of fact way, hoping it'll be enough to hide the fact that she'd successfully gotten under my skin again.

Amanda scoffs. "Pssh, that's so lame, who told you that?"

"My dad".

"Your dad's a virgin". Amanda says nonchalantly, I couldn't form any response to that.

A new sly smirk made its way back to her, a smirk that I've come to hate with passion. She nears me again and whispers. "Come on, you can tell me".

I gulp, trying my best to convince myself she's didn't mean what I think she's meaning. "Tell you what?"

"Come on, is there really no one around here, around this whole school filled with pretty young witches that matches your taste?"

"Taste?!" I repeat, almost losing my voice after hearing her say that. My eyes quickly search around us fearing anyone else heard her. "Amanda, seriously?!"

Seeing my distress only makes Amanda's smirk grow wider and encourages her to prod even further. "Oh, so there is?"

I turn to the girl and look at her with wide eyes and a loss of words. "I… What gives- you don't- Why would I-?"

Amanda places a finger to her chin. "Okay hold on, hold on, you'll hurt yourself. Let me guess it for you instead".

Amanda's solemn silence greatly contrasts my disastrous ramblings in a comical manner. After this long silence, Amanda finally opens her eyes and stops me and my unintelligible ramblings with her question. "Is it someone both of us knows?"

"Why would I answer that?" I ask rhetorically.

Amanda ignores my question and says. "Is it… Mary?"

I look to her and felt myself pausing out of disbelieve, both because of her persistency and guess. Very briefly I try to weight in whether I should indulge her nosy inquiries or not. Or more precisely, whether I should trust her with honest answers or not.

There're plenty more reasons not to trust this girl than to trust her, knowing how loud mouthed and outspoken she is. But that doesn't necessarily mean there won't be _any_ pieces of truth in some of my answers.

"Nay". I answer plainly.

Amanda might realize how farfetched her guess is, as she doesn't linger long on it and move on to her next guesses. "Elfriede?"

"I- I don't know who that is…"

"Avery?"

"N-no… I don't think so..."

"What about Gaëlle? She's pretty cute, especially around you".

"She's smart…" I say. I notice Amanda mischievously studying me when I said that, waiting for more. I don't aim to satisfy her. I frown and say, "…she barely talks to me, what gives you such idea?"

Amanda shrugs. "I don't know, hunch".

I'm given a momentary respite when, much to my delight, Amanda goes back to her thoughtful silence again. But it soon is broken with a snap of her fingers as she comes to a conclusion yet again. "Is it Sarah?"

From cheeks to ears, I'm now properly redder than Sarah's red hair. "What gives you that outlandish idea?! I've never even come close to talking to that girl!"

Amanda's grin grows wider and she tries to hold her amused laughter at bay. "Ohoh, did I hit the mark?"

"I did _not_ answer you yet", I snap at her. "I asked you, what gave you that idea?"

"I mean, you do stare off a lot during classes, and sometimes at her".

"That's called daydreaming you monkey! I was just- I daydream a lot!"

Amanda victoriously crosses her arms and smiles with smug satisfaction. "Uhuh, about her right?"

Boiling, that's the only word I can describe my current self. Any words that came out my mouth are a mix of half screaming and half laughing.

While I'm busy being a mess, Amanda, to my surprise, doesn't linger on her spot on (according to her not me!) guess any longer and returns to her thoughtful silence yet again, though now accompanied with a confident smile.

"Nah, nah that's not enough, I don't think you'd stop at one". She says, earning a glare from me immediately.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?", I demand, fire starting to show in my voice. "What do you take me for? Seriously!"

Amanda doesn't need to say another word. She just keep looking at me with that amused smug smile still plastered on her face- it's somehow enough to compel me to spill it.

I let out a deep frustrated groan. "Look, if _this_ will stop you from bugging me, then yes, Amanda, there more than 21 cute girls in this academy that naturally draws my eyes, but that doesn't mean I'm serious about them! And no, I won't say who they are or if you and I both know them"

Just saying those words is enough to make me fluster again. It doesn't help either that one of those said 21 girls is right in front of me.

Yes, I regretfully admit it and I'm confidently sure most boys would think the same that If you shed the thick layers that are Amanda's bugging personality and rough attitude, objectively, _objectively,_ she's passable. Though she's doing a mighty fine job right now in making my subjectivity get in the way of that objectivity.

Amanda seems pleasantly surprised at my responds. "Ohoh, 21? That's a lot".

"Hyperbole!" I scream, loud enough that some heads turn towards me. "An exaggeration to make it seem like…like… God, never mind!"

With my words reduced to incoherent babbles and Amanda's victorious laughs blasting my ears, I can't clear my head to find any other way out of this mess. Instead I unbuckle my wand and hold it towards Amanda, school rules be dashed. "Muro…"

Amanda quickly raises her hands up and retreats, her unforgiving shit eating smile and laugh still present and nearly negating any apology she's trying to make. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I'm going, I'm going!"

Amanda is still giggling merrily to herself when she retreats and disappears between the crowds of students, no doubt having a blast after successfully getting under my skin again.

I feel drained, parched, exhausted, discombobulated, bamboozled. The day hasn't even started yet and I already feel like I've been tied on the front seat of a roller coaster of emotions headed to destination 'fucked'.

I retract any statement I made about being glad Amanda came to talk to me.

When I said I wanted to get rid of the bitter feeling I had, I didn't ask for something like this dammit!

With the redhead out of sight and out of mind, I try deep breaths to settle my heartbeat. Seriously, there're far more important things to think about than stupid… cute girls.

I turn on my heels and pull myself together and intend to finally get on with the assignment, yet I nearly lost my composure immediately and almost dropped my pixie when I find Sucy right in front of me, her unsettling inexpressive eyes fixed on mine.

In one short breath I cry. "My god don't you ever do that again I nearly dropkicked you in the ribs!"

Sucy just rolls her eyes. "Whatever, who's our third member?"

I pause and look to Sucy's hand and found, to my surprise, a similar looking fairy as mine.

I feel my malaise nearly broken at the sight of it and the realization that I'll be in the same team as her.

I can't believe I've forgotten about Sucy. Apparently the messy emotional hustle and bustle today was enough to make me forget about her and my secret agenda I've been setting up. This the perfect set up for me to finally strike meaningful conversation with this girl, something I've been meaning to do after the whole stone fiasco.

This new fortunate luck I have almost makes me forget all the unfortunate ones I had so far today, almost.

"You okay?" Sucy asks, surprising me. It's not often for her to actually say something related to misfortune in an uncondescending way, I must've still looked terrible.

"Y-yeah", I answer dismissively as I fix my hat down, hoping it's enough for her to dismiss the subject. "Just a little flustered- _frustrated._ I'm just a little frustrated, don't mind me.

Despite my half-baked answer, I'm grateful to find Sucy not staying on the subject any further. With her back turned towards me as she scans the crowd for our third member, I let a deep sigh out my system.

It's just a matter of our third member now, hopefully she won't be anyone… troublesome.

With the clock ticking, the crowd of students that had already found their new teammates move on to the next area to prepare for their departure into the forest. Among those students who haven't found their teammates and still stays, one girl in particular doesn't seem too concerned with looking for hers, only busying herself with gazing onto the forest and doing something close nothing.

With her back turned towards us, Hannah's yellow bow sways in the wind as she stares off into the forest, unmoving. Even after all the other students had now moved on and only the three of us remains here, she still stays there with no sign of moving anytime soon.

Both of us exchange glances but said nothing. Sucy was the one who finally speaks up and call to the girl…

"Hey, idiot, come here".

…with an interesting choice of word.

Sucy calls her again and again, but no matter how many times she calls her, Hannah won't budge a muscle, she keeps facing away from us and seems to not hear her name being yelled.

After the hundredth time being called and not showing any reactions, I was about to suggest Sucy to change her choice of word but stop when Hannah, to both our surprises, suddenly turns around. "Yes! I heard you now shut up!" Hannah barked, a brown furtive pygmy pixie rested on her hand.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Jericho Franklin Jr. could never get a break.**

 **Some of you might not notice, but now this fanfic is 1 year of age! Its birthyday was back at 15th of August, which I completely missed! But this fanfic isn't the only one's getting a birthday. For my Indonesian bretheren, take this update as your independence day gift. How's the flag ceremony huh? Did you guys won any games or stuff? Did you stab your enemies with sharpened bamboo that day? hmm?**

 **Sorry that there's no monumental anniversary chapter like what Theodore experienced, Jerry must be super envious!**

 **As always, follow and favourite if you enjoyed, hit that like and subscribe button while you're at it. And last but totally not least, review review review, it's the most potent source of magic in the world, surpassing even a believing heart.**

 **This marks the end of part 1 of this two part chapter, I'll see you in the next one (hopefully) soon folks.**

 **Also I'm trying to set up a 'dramatic irony' here in this chapter, it'll grow as the story goes :)**

 **Also also, I'm guessing someone's having a blast reading this chapter. No I didn't make this chapter go like so just to please you, sir.**


	24. A Flower To Die For

**Author's Greetings:** **Well this chapter came out much bigger than I anticipated, and took much longer to make too.**

 **No grand excuses, I'm busy with college stuffs and other stuffs real life, mainly moving out to a new place. It's pretty hectic when you live alone and have literally _zero_ baggage! And I've finally had the initiative to join the archery club in my university and the recruitment process consists of a lot of fitness tests. It's not hard, but it ain't easy either! Hope I can pull of a Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor along the way.**

 **Anyway, the chapter, it took a different turn as I wrote it. I had a big change of idea after I finished writing it, so that contributed to the late release too.**

 **Another reason is I'm trying to improve my earlier chapters, more specifically, the first to the fifth chapters! I know, rework after rework after rework am I right? I should rename my whole fanfic to Ryze reworks at this point.**

 **But a writer's duty, gotta make the story better for the newcomers y'know? And since it's the first chapters, it will have zero plot heavy changes, just better execution of the story and dialogue overall. But just like my last rework, it'll be different from the original that if you're bored waiting for my next chapter release, you can read it!**

 **I'm not sure what's ahead, but one thing's for sure, I'll be pretty busy this month, so maybe I won't be able to spend my time on my keyboard being busy with writing things that has no relation or contribution to my college grades, but who knows?**

 **Also, there's one wee POV change going on in this chapter. There you'll notice the switch and I'm wondering if it's better for me to use something like that instead for the rest of the story?**

 **Anyway, enjoy this, you nerds.**

* * *

"I can't believe I got this… thing". Hannah groans as she stares at her pixie for the millionth time today.

Keep trying. Maybe if you complain hard enough your pixie will magically change colour. I do really hope so honestly.

Unfortunately with Sucy being as talkative as a rock, Hannah is the only person that I can have any conversation with. So, forcing a warm smile, I remark kindly. "It matches your hair colour, though".

However, it got shot down by Hannah immediately. "It's auburn, you dimwit, not brown".

I feel my eye twitch. Still forcing the same kind smile, I respond. "A-ah, I see"

So what's this task that the teachers had given us? It's to locate and extract a rare flower that naturally grows within this mythical forest of Deepwoods – the forest within forests. Each team received different assignments on what kinds of flora or fauna they'll have to gather, and they're mostly found in different parts of the forest, most are not even tasked to go to the Deepwoods. So the chances of running onto other teams will be quite slim.

We seem to have unconsciously assigned roles between the three of us. Sucy is almost instantly in charge, despite Hannah's initial ego making it hard to happen. She's in charge not out of popular vote, but due to her experience with forest exploration which she gained from the numerous explorations she did to find mushrooms; Hannah on the other hand is in charge of being our bloody bane of existence, with her endless complaints and less than nice remarks since the start of our trek; and I'm the very valuable pack mule, who carries this oversized backpack that I've convinced myself be vital during the trek.

The forest is a perilous place. One has to be prepared before entering it after all.

The part of the forest we're heading to, the Deepwoods, is an area _within_ this forest where the trees had grown incredibly tall and its thick and layered canopies cover the entire sky above it, shading everything underneath them and putting the forest in a perpetual state of night like darkness day and night.

Many kinds of nocturnal animals had taken advantage of this, thriving in this perfect environment for them. Some of them even developed unique attributes that no other animals outside this forest has, most notably is their luminescent abilities to attract prey, similar to fishes deep in the midnight zone. Some rare floras here too are luminescent, providing some light for us during our trek.

The atmosphere is quick to change once we stepped into the Deepwoods. The transition from the sunny forest into the Deepwoods' permanent night time was gradual yet somehow instant as well, palpable. It's comparable to stepping into an entirely separate and different room. The haunting darkness of the forest is only staved by the light from our wands and the luminescent floras that we sometimes found in our path.

"This flower better cure cancer", Hannah grumbles as she hastens her pace, eyes ever searching her surroundings.

Pray that you won't get cured then.

Just now I realized that that was the first complaint she's made after we stepped into the Deepwoods, and if the sudden decline of complains indicated anything, it's that Hannah is properly spooked.

I couldn't possibly poke fun at her for that one. Her fear isn't unfounded, after all.

"If you're scared just wait by the bus", Sucy says offhandedly. Her suggestion might've come off as a challenge more than anything else, as now Hannah feels more irritated than scared of her surroundings.

"I can handle myself just fine", Hannah spat back, unsurprisingly earning minimal reaction from Sucy.

"If this will help ease your worry…" I begin with a sigh. "Official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewen Cameron in 1680 in Killiencrankie, but there are reports that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century, and a tale even exists of one being seen as late as 1888. But of course, that was a long time ago, so I doubt any will come our way today".

Hannah rolls her eyes. With zero effort to hide her sarcasm, she says. "That's very freaking helpful".

Sucy who had been pretty silent for the entire trek suddenly decides to add in to the conversation. "Wolves should be the least of your worries, considering the kinds of beasts you'd find in places like this".

Hannah's expression quickly turns grim after that, her irritation fading away almost instantly at the mention of anything spooky. "Oh please don't start".

Hannah's reaction only serves to make a toothy grin make its way to Sucy's lips, revealing her sharp shark-like teeth. Knowing this will upset the yellow bowed girl, Sucy ignores the look Hannah is giving her and starts her story. "There are creatures that long resided in this world far before humans ever stepped foot on it, and when they do, they drove the monsters away, banishing them from the light of the day to the dark corners of the earth. They had to hide themselves away from the humans to save their skins, and the monsters grew spiteful because of that. Their hatred for their banishers never cease as they watch the humans thrive, it only grew".

Sucy had mostly kept her head forward during the whole trip, disinterested with our redundant conversations and only focused on the assignment, until now where she finally turns to us to deliver her story with a grin. "They favour dark places and woodlands, guess where we are now?"

Hannah could only cover her ears and shake her head repeatedly as Sucy continues to tell her story, noticing this only encourages the pale witch to continue worsen the yellow bowed girl's day.

"Of course, this all sounds like tall tales to scare the kids, but it's not like unexplained attacks and abductions never happened all over the world. In fact, there's one that's happened right here in this very forest! It was back in the 19th century, three girls went missing".

"Oh my god! I don't like this sort of stories", I grimace and admittedly recoil a bit, but soon I find myself silently drifting closer to Sucy. "What happened next?"

Sucy shrugs, a devilish smile still present on her lips. "They're never found, but they said that the search team found their belongings intact, without any sign of conflict. It's like the girls went missing on their own will without resistance".

"Gosh, stop it!" Hannah's desperate cry cuts through the story, and we see her cover her ears as she stomps away, pushing past us and leaving us behind.

"H-hey, don't go too far on your own"

"Shut up! Better than being with you two!" Hannah barks back at me without looking back. She disappears between the thick foliage ahead, her hands still covering her ears even then.

"Aren't you going after her?" Sucy asks, and I can already tell from her indifferent tone that she has no intention to do so on her own, which means we're going to be left with no one but the two of us if this keeps going.

I reply her question with a sly smile.

Sucy shrugs in response and continues her pace. Following the path we've last seen Hannah going. I hoist my backpack up and follow her not far behind.

It's gone terribly quieter with Hannah out of the picture, I don't celebrate too much in this blessing as now there's no time to waste, this is the perfect time to get down to business.

A sly smirk makes its way to my lips and I say. "There's this thing that I've been meaning talk about with you…"

Sucy sighs, annoyance already present in her voice this early. "If this is the reason you're not going after Hannah, then I'll go and look for her myself".

"Such assumptions!" I say, faking a dramatic surprise. "I want nothing but information, really! I was just wondering if you know whether the school stores preserved blood or the likes, any type of blood".

Sucy's impatience gradually dies down when she realizes I'm just asking questions. Her tone starts to ease when she finally answers. "They do have them, fairy blood, goblin blood, gnome blood, snake blood, troll blood, even chicken blood. But the school's pretty low in stock with most of them, probably because of low demands from the students and teacher, but I still don't think they'll just give it away if you ask for one, considering how much work is put in collecting them".

I already hate where this is going.

"How hard is it to get one?"

"You just got to prove that you're decent enough in alchemy so that the teachers will know you won't waste their precious ingredients for something redundant and stupid".

I smell practical tests, it's enough to make me nervous and derail my focus. I scratch the back of my head and nervously laugh. "Heeeeh, Sucy, it'll be easier if someone like you helps a struggling friend by borrowing the blood and then lending it to him?"

"In your dreams", Sucy's answer was instant. It comes complete with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes. But as instantaneous as it came, her irritation suddenly switches to that of interest. "What's in it for me?"

Well I caught her interest so far, but really, what do I have that Sucy doesn't?

Sucy's frown begins to return as I continue to ponder nervously. The girl begins to lose interest in the conversation when she starts to realize that I do not have anything worthwhile to offer.

Only when I'm sure I've hit a dead end do I use my last card. I blink a few times and try to do a charming smile. "Y-you know, one of the most beautiful aspects of friendship is helping–"

"No thanks", Sucy answers offhandedly, she's already has her back turned to me.

I run up beside her. "W-wait, Sucy! You're mistaken, the reason I need those blood is for a very interesting reason! So interesting you'll like it"

Sucy turns again and asks with guarded curiosity. "What do you need them for then?"

Wait, wait, wait, is this the moment I'm supposed to tell her? Am I supposed to spill the beans here?

Do I trust her enough? I trust her skills but no matter how much I try to convince myself, Sucy's allegiance so far is unclear for me. She'd shown the tendency to side with her own self even when it comes to her closer friends like Akko and Lotte, so what chance do I, a mere lesser acquaintance, have?

But this is the moment that I have to be brave and tell the truth. I'm asking for this girl's help, it's only natural that she knows that help means. It may be counterintuitive, but this time, maybe telling the truth is the right way.

I take a deep breath and prepare my next few words carefully. With this new conclusion, I find the strength to smile and I answer.

"Cooking!"

Sucy's curiosity starts to shift into that of a narrow-eyed suspicion. "What kind of cooking?"

"There's this one family cooking recipe I've been meaning to make myself, see. I'm far from where I come from and eating it always reminds me of home".

By now I could tell that she's wondering what sort of family has a traditional family dish with blood as part of its recipe. She doesn't need to voice her question for me to know and answer it.

"I know what your next line is… 'steamed hams'".

Sucy squints her eyes at me, her suspicion now laid open. "Riiight".

"My dad always made them every time the whole family got together or an important guest comes to visit, nothing better to lift the spirits more than good company, a table full of warm food, and the gentle sound of the waves outside our house. I remember the last time we had it was when my superintendent and school principal visited us for a luncheon!".

"I still can't see how your family comes together to eat… something made of blood".

"Well, clams and oysters have blood even after you clean them, they're even better with the blood still there, in fact. That's why I want to add as much blood as I can to them, you know?".

"Clams, despite you said its steamed hams?"

I frown at the girl and say my words slowly, as if talking to a child. "No, I said steamed clams. You know you're not making any sense here, right?"

Despite the overwhelming signs of my bullshit, the growing convoluted explanation I'm throwing at her has done enough to convince the witch that the conversation is not worth wasting her time arguing with.

Regardless of what I want, I'm forced to agree that it's time to stop the conversation. Hannah's sudden return makes it impossible to continue.

Hannah walks up to us, too busy dusting her clothes from twigs and leaves to look up. "If you two are done talking about weird food, I found the flowers".

I'm impressed. I didn't think someone like Hannah would be the one who's actually working on the assignment right now. I mean, with Diana normally in her team, it's easy to think she'd never done any part in group works and would be deadweight to ours.

"I didn't take you as someone who works on group assignments, seeing how you always rely on Diana", Sucy remarks, hitting close to my own thoughts. I had to turn away so Hannah couldn't see my grin.

"Shut up, Manbavaran", Hannah snaps.

I notice a smile grace Sucy's lips at her success of getting under Hannah's skin a bit.

The thick bushes behind us suddenly start to rustle and it made me jump to my feet and hide behind Sucy. In a complete contrast to me, she stands there motionless staring at the source of the sound without any worry. The same can't be said about Hannah.

"Wh-what was that?! Something is there!" Hannah cries and points to the bushes.

We wait in dire anticipation, none of us making a move or another word as the noise comes closer and closer and the bush begins to shake as something is stirring inside it.

Something exited the bush slowly, and all breathes held are now released when a small bipedal creature now stands before us, its head tilting curiously as it notices us too.

It's as tall as a gnome or goblin, but as pretty as neither. Its skin is brown and seems thick, almost leathery. And its beady eyes study the three of us ever so curiously, no sign of alarm or hostility in them.

Whatever it is, it's small and doesn't seem to pose any threat. It looks dumb even.

The thing isn't a monster, but it isn't a beauty either. Yet Sucy decided to kneel in front of it and closely inspects it.

"Eh, Sucy, don't you think you're getting too close?" I ask, still holding cautiousness.

She doesn't respond but she does get up and had already continued forward when she says. "Come on, show us the way".

Upon being addressed, Hannah snapped her cautious gaze away from the creature and catches up to the pale witch. "R-right!"

I linger here longer than the two, somehow transfixed on the small creature. It tilts its head sideways, mimicking mine when I do so. I would turn around to follow the girls but stop in the last second and look back to check, and as expected, found it following my steps.

The creature stays silent and immobile when I look at it. I threw a stick far off the distance in hopes it's of a canine descent and would follow it on instinct.

Unfortunately it's not.

I turn and hasten my pace to catch up to the girls, hoping it'll just go away some time later once it gets bored with me or if it's tiny legs fail to keep up.

"&"

We follow Hannah's lead to a small clearing where a large tree stands tall in the middle, its branches spread wide above us, providing a dark and cool canopy for the whole clearing all by itself. The air's cold and clear, and the tall grasses brush gently against my legs. The sound of distant nocturnal animals also fills my ears, reminding me that no matter how dreary this place might seem, we're not alone, and I find comfort in that. And there at the foot of the large tree colourful flowers grow, what stands out among them is a magnificently blue crowned flower that seems to emanate a faint blue light from its crowns.

It's like the flower couldn't be any more obvious that it's our assignment.

The view is quite captivating, at least for me and probably Sucy (I can't tell what she feels about anything, really). As for Hannah, having been in this place just minutes ago, she already has her head on the right place.

"Right, that's the one we're looking for, right?" She asks and turns to us. "Just so we're clear, I'm not going to volunteer on the 'unearthing' part".

Hannah stops on her tracks when she got a glance at me. "What is that... animal doing here?"

Sucy arches her brows. "That's harsh, even for him".

"No", Hannah reiterates. She points somewhere close to my leg and says. "I meant that".

We follow her direction and see the creature from before hugging my left leg tightly. I lift my leg up but the creature won't go, it hangs in the air, holding onto my leg like a fish out of water.

"I don't… like this thing". I say.

While Hannah and I are quite disturbed by this creature's uncomfortable clinginess, Sucy chooses to ignore its presence and goes for the flowers.

Thankfully, one of us is pretty much immune to being disgusted. Sucy goes on to inspect the flowers, intending to unearth it in our stead. She extends her hand towards me and without looking, asks. "Glass jar".

"Sure, sure". I sling the backpack off my shoulder and take out a medium sized glass jar from inside.

Sucy then extends her other hand. "Trowel".

"Your will be done".

Reaching further inside my bag, I try to find it by feeling my way through the messy jumble of items. It's not exactly the easiest thing to do, in fact it's quite the difficulty. "That's the flashlight, no that's the spoon, no this one's a rope".

Both Hannah and Sucy begin to grow terribly impatient as I continue rummaging through my backpack without any satisfying result.

"No, that's the scalpel, nope that's the live frog, nope that is Francis's fish food, and… no this is my wand. Wait, wait I think I got it…. Nope! This is just my reverse hyper kinetic particle matrix arranger I borrowed from Constanze…"

Hannah groans and reaches inside the bag too. "Gosh, can't you do anything fast?"

"It's like a Ley Line in here, everything's mixed up! Seriously I've tried and there's no trowel in here".

It takes only a second for Hannah to find the trowel.

"Ah… never mind". I say. I take the trowel from the scowling Hannah and hand it to Sucy. "See? Found it".

The pale witch swipes the trowel from my hand. She eyes it for a moment before looking up and sending a death-filled, irritation-induced glare my way. "I should murder you with this trowel".

Hannah sighs. "Please do, I won't tell anyone if you do it here".

Despite her overwhelming irritation, Sucy chooses to ignore me for the time being and returns her attention to the flowers. She kneels on the ground in front of it and begin carefully extracting them from the ground.

"But won't you need gloves? Or disinfectants?" I offer and return to rummaging through my backpack.

Sucy seems to not hear me, or just outright ignores me, and digs the trowel deep into the soil with reckless sanitary abandon.

"We need to get the flower entirely, even its roots". She explains.

"Still… just don't forget to wash your hands after this, okay?"

Hannah's skin immediately pales as Sucy unearths some unexpected visitors alongside the flower's roots. She covers her mouth with the back of her hand and says. "Ew, that's a worm".

"Sucy, seriously, wash your hands after this", I remind her in a more serious tone.

"Seriously, shut the hell up, you two!" Sucy growls. She digs deeper into the dirt and creepy critters continue crawling out of the ground, this time in a more alarming frequency.

"Happy thoughts, Hannah, happy thoughts", I tell her. It does a moderate job in calming her down.

"Happy thoughts", she listens and tries. But then, the creature that's been watching the whole ordeal from the safety of my feet suddenly dives into the insect invested soil and begin to devour them. The crunching sound the insects made as their hard carapaces are chewed by the creature is enough to make me grimace and turn Hannah even paler white.

"Excuse me", the auburn girl hastily excuses herself before she separates herself from the group and runs into the treelines.

My eyes hesitantly go back and forth between Hannah's shrinking figure and Sucy. Hannah is squeamish, there's that, but I cannot understand how Sucy could stand such horrid sight without any difficulty to stomach it.

Sucy had to pause as the creature hinders her digging. She didn't try to stop it, however. Once done with its meal, the creature wipes its mouth with its tiny paw-like hands, bits of insect carapace and wings still dirtying it.

"That's not nice", I grimace slowly. "Not aesthetic at all".

Sucy grabs the creature before tossing it behind her back. It flew a good distance away from us.

While I don't share Sucy's constitution or Hannah's squeamishness, like any normal and sane human person, the sight I just witnessed here is good sign to keep my distance.

Not before throwing another helpful fact, of course.

"Did you know that earwigs have no relation to ears, like at all?"

"I thought they crawl into your ears?" Sucy asks, actually so interested in this piece of information that she pauses her digging and looks to me.

"No, it's a myth, apparently. And those pincers? The males use it to fight over females and the bigger they are, the bigger chance they'll be able to mate".

Sucy takes a momentary pause to take this one particular information. When she finally does, she returns to her digging and without looking back says. "I see…"

With Sucy now too busy with the flowers and Hannah too busy getting as much distance from the insects as much as possible, I'm left alone with no one to bother or be bothered with.

I look at the creature Sucy just tossed away, it's currently digging to the ground next to a flower. I figure it's trying to search for food, one that he doesn't need to be tossed away just to enjoy it.

What catches my attention more is the flower its digging next to, however.

The flower doesn't seem like anything I've seen in books, its sharp crimson petals sway along the cold forest wind that carries with it its strong yet welcoming smell. The crowns feel cold and silky smooth to the touch, and my impulse made it obligatory for me to pick the flower.

I gingerly put it on my chest pocket and, after a moment of consideration, uproot a few more, making sure to not damage the roots, and load them into another jar I had.

Done with my own thing, I give one glance at the still burrowing creature. I shake my head at its silliness.

I note that Hannah hasn't yet returned and Sucy seems less occupied with her flower, so I approach her again.

"About the blood", I start, and Sucy's silence convinces me she's listening.

The words I was about to say lingers at the tip of my tongue, but last minute consideration made me retract and modify it. "Do you… do you take yourself as a magically responsible student, Sucy?"

Sucy doesn't answer my question directly, instead she says, more so a statement than a question. "You're trying something forbidden".

"More or less".

Sucy turns and raises an amused brow. Perhaps she's amused, perhaps she didn't take me as someone who's willing to break rules, seeing how I acted a few days ago when I tried to stop her team and Amanda's from breaking one.

"You're going to tell me about it?" Sucy asks. The absence of command in her tone leads me to believe she doesn't expect me to answer it.

I lean myself on the tree and let the silence take over for a while as I try to think of a response.

In my defence, it's not easy asking favours to someone while not telling them what they're in for.

"I'll tell you what it is, if it works…"

Again, Sucy shoots me an amused look.

"…So that I won't look like a fool if I fail doing so". I answer with a believable smirk. It's something unspoken between us, but I feel like the two of us knows that's a lie.

Sucy turns away from me again, but before I could think she's lost interest, she speaks up again. "You're serious about this cooking, huh?"

"Tell you what. I'll let you have a taste if you help me cook it".

With her back turned, I can't tell whatever expression or thought Sucy's holding. But from this end of our conversation, I somehow have a good feeling that she didn't take my proposal too badly now.

Sucy had just finished gathering the flowers. Straightening her back, the witch places the jar inside her own satchel and turns to me. "That's enough flowers, let's head back".

As if on cue, the creature too had just finished his lunch and returns to us with a happy stomach.

I look around but I'm surprised to find Hannah hadn't yet returned.

"Hannah?! We're done with the unearthing part so you can come back now!" I shout. With my attempt meeting no result, Sucy tries her own luck.

"Hey, idiot! We're done here so come back!" Sucy shouts, but same as mine, hers came unanswered, save for the chirps and chitters of the nocturnal animals.

For a moment, none of us bothers to say or do anything. The two of us understood what sort of troubles we'll get if one of our teammates got herself in trouble, but another part questions do we really want to waste our energy for that girl.

The first to speak out of this moral dilemma is, naturally, me. "This sound like a terrible plan, but one of us should stay here in case she comes back while the other search for her".

"I'm not looking for her". Sucy, without a trace of hesitation, says. She's quick to kneel back on the ground and get her trowel out again. "The mushrooms here are pretty rare, so go ahead and search for her while I wait here".

"When I said one of us, Sucy…" I begin slowly, trying my best to supress an exasperated sigh. "I meant we should discuss on which one of us should go"

"I just did".

I no longer hold my sigh and ask myself why I even bothered. I'll never win any arguments with this girl.

The creature runs up to the digging Sucy, but is immediately stopped as the girl reaches out to it, grabs it by its face, and throws it behind her back.

I shake my head at her behaviour and place my focus back on the direction Hannah went into. From here, it's hard to discern anything beyond a few metres before the unnatural darkness takes over. Very little luminescent plants guide the way.

With a deep breath, I leave the clearing in search of the yellow bowed girl.

"&"

"Hannah?! Hannah?! Come out please, I just want to head back!"

What felt like a minute of searching had led me deeper and deeper into the forest, I would often stop to get a bearing of my surroundings, making sure that I won't be stuck in a fit of irony by getting myself lost in the process of searching for a lost person.

In one of the stops I made, I realize that the creature had followed me instead of staying with Sucy. But I don't mind. I would do the same if she threw me like that.

I acknowledge and approve the creature's presence with a nod and resume my thoughts.

There are a few new things I notice in this new area I've found myself in.

When I turn around, I can no longer see the clearing from here. Here I finally realize how far I've searched and how foreign this part of the forest is.

Second is the silence. The first thing I noticed when the three of us stepped into the Deepwoods is the unexpected liveliness of its inhabitants that counters the eerie look of the forest. Crickets, geckos, bats, and other nocturnal animals, they all did their part and made the forest unexpectedly bearable.

But now there's nothing. There's no chitter from the bats, no hoot hoots from the hoot hoots birds (or some would call them, owls), no chirps from the crickets nor from the geckos.

There's nothing. It's as if the whole forest, or even, the world, had gone quiet except for me, and this odd creature trailing behind me.

Before I could put my mind deeper into this strange phenomenon, a distant voice pulls my head out of uncertainty.

I whip my head to where the sound came from. "Sucy? I told you I don't need following, right?"

"Come here!" Sucy yells again, this time loud and commanding enough that I already move towards her voice before I could think about it.

This could only mean that Hannah must've gone back to the clearing before me.

I should be thankful to the girl for giving me a direction to head into with her voice, but the girl proves doing so takes no meagre amount of patience.

"Come here, idiot!"

"Yes, yes, I can hear you!". I yell back.

I try to quell the growing irritation at Sucy's nonstop yelling just for the sole reason that it's the only thing that could guide me back to her, and I'm beginning to think the girl is aware of this and is the reason she uses such choice of words.

If anything, I'm soon relieved to find Hannah's yellow bow emerging from the thick foliage ahead first like an antenna.

"There you are, we've been looking all over for you", the pompous girl says, brushing a few twigs and leaves off her clothes just like earlier.

Hannah notices the creature and shakes her head. It's been beside me the entire time and I note how it seems to sniff the air like a dog would when it caught scent of something meal worthy.

Despite the situation we're in, I couldn't resist the amused smirk that curves lips. "You were?"

Hannah furrows her brows and crosses her arms. "Look, I wouldn't be searching for you even if you went missing for days unless the teacher said it'll affect my grades, and even then I'd do it begrudgingly".

I felt like I should sigh, but I'm amused more than anything. "Why are you so mean today?"

Hannah crosses her arms, she wears an unimpressed frown. "To you? Do I really need a reason?"

I reckon it's partly because of today's revelation. Hannah was never that friendly to me in the first place, so knowing that might just give her more reason not to be so.

Regardless, the situation we're in just so reminds me of something.

"You know, being stuck with together, does it remind you of something?"

Hannah frowns—she clearly knows what I'm talking about. "Do you really want me to remember something like that? Hunting a killer golem is not good memory material at all".

"I thought you're dumb but not this dumb". Hannah says and shakes her head. "Also, what kind of idiot decides to split off from the group anyway? Maybe being an un-pureblooded wizard has something to do with it!"

Despite her jab at me, I couldn't help but smirk. It's exactly her jab and how forced it is that amuses me. Holding a snicker, I say. "Hannah, weren't you the one who split off from the group first?"

Hannah quickly glares at me – it was a weak glare that makes me more amused than anything. "That's besides the–"

She stops midway and just stares at me with narrowed eyes. Her mouth moves as she tries to make a rebuttal, but in the end, she couldn't come up with anything.

"Shhhut up"

I shrug my shoulders. "I'm fine with shutting mine if you promise you'll shut yours".

Hannah snorts and seems like she's going to try another jab at me. But whatever Hannah wanted to say was cut short when Sucy's growingly irritated voice calls out again.

"Are you two idiots done talking?"

Hannah instantly whips her head to the source of the interruption and shouts back. "Shut up, you freaking creep!"

Her voice was so loud that I had to cover my ears.

Only once the ringing stopped do I uncover my ears, yet my hand still lingering close to my ear in case she decides to try and pop them again.

I suppose, she was about to deliver some mighty rebuttal at me if she's _this_ pissed at the interruption.

"Sorry, what was it you wanted to say, Hannah?"

Hannah turns to me and just as I thought, she looks quite agitated with the interruption. "Never mind! Let's just head back first".

As she turns away from me, Hannah took a brief glance at me but it turns to a full wide-eyed stare almost immediately. Confused, I couldn't say a word before Hannah immediately reaches out her hand towards me. "W-wh- watch out!"

I turn to look where she is and I could feel my heart leap.

There's something on my shoulder, and I didn't care to register what it is. What I did register is the glint that came reflected from its fangs that inches closer to my shoulder.

I instinctively smack the creature away and the two of us looks at it falls and tumbles in the grass.

Only after the surprise had fused down do we really get to see what that thing was.

It's the creature from before. It pushes itself up from the ground and looks at me.

It's exactly the same creature, I'm sure of it. But as it pushes itself up the ground and looks up to me, I could literally feel its hostility towards me.

Did I agitate it? And if I did, was it after or before I smacked it away from me?

I couldn't linger at these thoughts any longer when the creature suddenly leaped to its feet and lunges at me, surprising both Hannah and I with its agility.

It leaps straight to my face and I was just so caught up with its surprising speed that I nearly didn't have time to react. Reacting as quickly as I could, I hold my right hand up to cover my face, and I could feel something puncturing it immediately.

Hannah could only look in horror as I clutch my right hand tightly.

Its now heavy. The creature has bitten it good, and it won't let go.

I raise my hand and see the creature still clinging onto it with its mean teeth hooked in, its body dangling in the air and like a ragdoll as I swing my hand around trying to shake it off.

I had stayed silent, thinking this is nothing but a small misunderstanding. But as I feel the creature not letting go, fear begin to set in me. "Hannah, I can't take it off".

My words pulled Hannah back into focus and she finally starts to move. "H-Hold on, let me try to–"

"G-get a rock, get a rock".

"Are you crazy?! Are you trying to–"

"Hannah, I'm serious this thing isn't letting go".

The creature suddenly tightens its bite and I'm dead certain it dug deeper into my arm. I wince and certainly felt that but I didn't fail to notice one odd thing: I did not see any blood dripping out or spreading through the white bandage.

I fall to the ground from the sudden jolt of pain and that's enough to convince Hannah to take out her wand. She carefully aims it at the bloodsucker and fires off a Murowa spell. It barely scratches the creature.

"It's not working…" Hannah says, looking at her wand as if it's broken.

The two of us didn't even notice Sucy's arrival, The pale witch's eyes went wide as she assesses the situation.

Without a word, Sucy kneels next me. She studies the creature closely in silence, and from the look in her eyes, I know she has a better understanding of what's going on compared to the two of us. So I patiently wait for her verdict.

Hannah and I wait in dire anticipation as to what she has to say, which only makes her next course of action all the more alarming.

As sudden as the way she arrived, the girl suddenly stands up and starts walking away. "We got what we came, lets head back now". She says so with such indifference that it amazes me.

"Wh-whoa, Sucy! Can we address this thing first?".

"I've read about it somewhere". Sucy explains, glancing back at us. "It does bite anything that it sees as a threat, but it's just a nuisance and not harmful in the end, it'll let go".

"So I just walk back with this?" I ask, lifting the hand the creature is biting to emphasize my point. "It tried to bite me in the neck though, how was _I_ a threat?"

"No idea what you did, but it now sees you as a threat. But what I do know is the more threat it thinks it's in the tighter its bite will be, it'll eventually let go once it's sure it's out of harm".

Without waiting for me to object any more, Sucy already resumes her walk.

Sucy's way to deliver her explanation might not be the best, but it's enough to make me less worried now that I know that this isn't as big as a problem as I first thought it was.

I turn to Hannah. "Well, that's a roller coaster of emotions".

But the girl doesn't return my humour. She still stares at my hand and the creature attached to it in worry. But I choose to believe in Sucy's words and try to forget about it.

"Come on, maybe if we show the creature how chill we really are it'll let go sooner than expected!" I say and follow Sucy. With the creature latched on my hand, it's sort of hard to balance myself properly.

I notice Hannah trailing close behind me. She hasn't spoken a word and I often forgot she's even there during the journey back.

"You really have bad luck with killer animals, huh?" Hannah mutters quietly.

"&"

 _ **Hannah**_ strides closer towards Sucy. Once she's sure she's distanced herself enough from the third member of the group and is out of earshot, she whispers to Sucy quietly. "I don't know, Manbavaran, but that thing unsettles me".

Sucy closes her eyes briefly before opening them again and answering. "I'll give you the truth. We're in a bad situation here".

Hannah blinks. Her eyes search somewhere else for a moment but soon returns to the pale witch and murmurs. "The bite…"

Sucy nods. "You need to know, I didn't lie about it tightening its bite when facing threat. But what I didn't tell him is that it's not just a bite, that thing's having a meal as we speak".

Sucy gives Hannah a sidelong glance. "It's sucking his blood".

Despite not being the one having her blood drained, Hannah still feel her blood leaving her body. But she quickly shakes herself out of this and says. "Th-then we should take it off him!"

Sucy turns to Hannah and furrows her brows. "Keep it down, you don't want to–".

"Keep down?!" Hannah cries incredulously. She couldn't possibly think of any reason why Sucy wants to keep all this a secret.

"I'm aware, Hannah", Sucy hisses. "You've seen it yourself. That thing's durable, we can't do anything to that creature with what we currently have. We need to go back and find help".

"Then why are we walking like slowpokes? I thought this is serious!?"

Sucy is at the edge of her patience. She looks to Hannah with a sharp stare and half-growl half-whispers. "That thing is sucking his blood, the last thing we need is him knowing the danger he's in and have his heart pumping like crazy and quickening the process. And running would do just that too so we have no other choice but to walk, and none of us should show any indications that he's in danger and make him panic".

Hannah gulps and could only take this new information in silence. She couldn't dare look back to the boy who she now discovers could be in peril.

"Flare?" Hannah suggests.

Sucy shakes her head. "Thick canopies, you'd burn the whole forest first before help will arrive. And seeing the height of the trees, it'd take too long to climb up pass the canopies".

Hannah looks up and realizes with dread that the pale witch's words are completely correct.

Hannah keeps her face forward and says nothing to the girl beside her. She's trying hard to take all this information in, and the gravity and reality of the situation begins to weight on her slowly but surely, and she hates it.

Its hard for her to believe that she, Hannah England, is in such a messy situation without her friends anywhere near her to help her out of this. Why does it have to be her that got stuck in this situation and not someone else?

Its unfair, she thought to herself. How could _she_ get grouped up with these two and far away from her friends? All this wouldn't have happened if the teachers didn't decide to do something as ridiculous as team-switching. She wouldn't even have to deal, she wouldn't have been involved in this ridiculous situation if it wasn't for the teachers.

And damn the forest and its thick canopies that it makes it impossible to fire off a flare and just be done with it, and now that she thinks about it, double damn the teachers who think a forest that makes it impossible to ask for help with a flare is a safe place to have an educational field trip!

Truly, this feels like the worst day possible for Hannah England. She feels like the whole universe is plotting to make this day so, and she despises it.

After a while, Sucy finally speaks again, this time in a more neutral tone. Its enough to pull Hannah away from the unpleasant thoughts that's brewing inside her head. "Anyway. Do you remember the way from here?"

Hannah nods. "Y-yeah, I think I do".

Sucy's advice might be intended for Jerry, but Hannah found that it could work for herself too. She knows it's best to not panic in such a situation, something she's terribly bad at doing to be frankly honest. So being busied with helping Sucy guide them out of here might take her mind out of the perils they've found themselves in.

Hannah did think this trip is already ruined the moment her teammates are revealed, but she didn't expect it to be this terrible. And as much as Hannah hated to admit it, she had to be thankful that the level headed Manbavaran girl is part of her team. She couldn't imagine herself keeping a clear head like her in a situation such as this.

But still, she's still a weirdo and a creep.

"G-guys", a raspy voice calls to the two girls, cutting off Hannah's thoughts. "Can we stop here, for a minute?"

The two girls turn and see the miserable form of Jericho. His skin pale, cold and sweaty, his laboured and sharp breathes shows his exhaustion, and his trembling legs shows just how little energy he has left. Its clear as day that he won't be able to stand upright for long.

Hannah felt like covering her mouth out of horror, but she quickly reminds herself not to show any signs that could lead him to a panic. And so, biting back any natural reaction, Hannah tries to answer his request. But she finds it impossible almost immediately, she has no idea how to do so with a straight face while keeping such a weighty secret away from him.

And so she's thankful that the Manbavaran girl takes the initiative and answers.

"We can't, the assignment's deadline will be up in a few minutes". She says, so calmly that Hannah looks to her with wide eyes.

No holes in her lie and no trace of nervousness. Hannah wonders if this is an act or that's her true feelings.

"I really… don't feel right". The boy moans, clutching his temple as cold sweat dribbles down from it.

Sucy sighs in annoyance, it's so convincing that whether it's a faked or genuine one, Hannah will never know.

Sucy continues to fetch a mushroom from her satchel and hands it to Jerry. "Eat lots of this, and water too, it'll get you through".

Jerry takes the mushroom without a second thought and begin eating eat. Feeling confident with himself now, he continues the trek once he finished taking a good amount of water.

"Shanks Shuushy", he mumbles while he's chewing a mouthful.

It's incredible, Hannah thought, how he could still wear a cheeky smile with what he's going through.

Something inside Hannah stirred, and she didn't like to admit it. Seeing him in such a miserable and lesser state (not that he's _that_ great to begin with, mind you), she begin to think that she shouldn't be the one complaining.

Just a super tiny bit, though. She still mostly think that he's a mega dork and a total loser and that she's still the one who deserves to complain the most since she's in this situation thanks to him entirely and that he's not a pureblooded witch like her and the family she's born into.

And so, because of that, Hannah had no idea what reason made her slow down so he can keep up with her. She wears an unusually soft expression than she had never shown when he's within her field of vision and it only serves to make him uneasy.

"Give me your backpack" Hannah says. The lack of any soft tone that contrasts her otherwise kind offer serves to make it far from convincing.

Jerry suddenly pauses as he notices this, and he seems uneasy at the thought of handing her his bag just because she made such an unconvincing kind offer.

"But it's miiine", the boy whines in protest.

Hannah had to resist the temptation to just drop her offer and leave him be. "Just shut up and hand it over to me".

Hannah had to wrestle the backpack from him. And to her amusement, even in his state, Jerry tried to put up some resistance.

It was futile, of course. When Hannah England went out her way to be kind to someone she normally wouldn't, she won't accept the mockery of being denied.

It took a good minute to finally win the backpack and Hannah almost felt bad. She basically just took a sick person's belonging by force.

Just almost.

"If you make it dirty…" the boy drawls and points at Hannah with his right hand – the one the creature is still on. "Literally, I'll sue your entire family".

Hannah almost felt she regretted offering him help in the first place. But he's sick, so for once, she'll let this slide.

Hannah lets the boy walk in his own pace and she catches up with Sucy, oversized backpack now on her back.

"I thought you said we can't do anything?" Hannah whispers once she's close. "About the mushrooms, I mean".

"I did. It's just a placebo".

Hannah blinks. "P-placebo?"

She's mostly surprised that the girl could come up with one so quickly and seamlessly during that brief and sudden conversation.

"It does nothing", Sucy explains. "Basically it serves only to make him optimistic, nothing else".

Hannah's thick brows quickly shape into an annoyed frown. "Yes, I know what it meant, Sucy. It wasn't a question".

Hannah's very certain the girl has more snide in store, so she's puzzled when the pale witch says nothing more. She later realizes that the reason for that is the backpack she's carrying, and how Sucy is giving it an amused sidelong glance.

Hannah didn't need her to say it to know what she's thinking.

"Just… don't ask", Hannah sighs.

As the journey back continues, the thick canopies begin to thin little by little. Hints of sunlight slip through the tiny crevices of the canopies, bathing the dark forest with growingly common rays of warm sunlight.

They're like fleeting strings made of light and hope, telling the three that safety is close.

However, just when they thought things are getting better, the sound of something heavy falling onto the ground reaches the girls' ears.

Hannah already knew what it was and didn't even want to turn around. Sucy however, doesn't miss a beat and pulls out a retractable cot from her satchel (which just now Hannah realized is already enchanted) and brings it near the unconscious boy's body.

Sucy uses her magic to levitate Jerry into the cot and uses another to make it move and follow her. She'd already resumed her trek, enchanted cot behind her, while Hannah is still baffled.

"Nojitto mushrooms", Sucy explains as she moved pass Hannah. Unlike her, Sucy seems unfazed by the whole situation. "I sort of lied when I said it was placebo earlier".

In fact, it was a double placebo, if you think about it. She managed to fool not just the patient!

"Now that he won't have his heart race in any way, is it safe to run our way out of here now?" Hannah asks.

She almost hated herself for saying that. The last thing she wants to do now in this already miserable day is to tire herself by running – one of the many un-ladylike activities she hates to do.

This flower better cure cancer! Hannah thought to herself.

So in rush are the two now that they have no room to focus on anything else. So in rush they were that they fail to notice a leaf that had landed on the boy's temple.

Not that such a thing warrants any attention. But, if you take the shape of the leaf into account, it probably should.

A crescent shaped leaf had descended through the thick canopies and landed right on the boy's temple.

That's unusual, unnatural, even.

No such tree that grows such leaves grow anywhere near this forest.

It's impossible for such a leave to appear here naturally.

He felt odd when he woke up.

He knew he was unconscious, but he's already standing on both his legs when he opened his eyes.

Jericho Franklin Jr. looks to his surroundings, hoping to find a clue on where he could possibly be.

He's somewhere foreign, that's for sure.

But there's nothing to describe the place he's in. In fact, that's the only description he could think of this strange place; nothing, just a dark landscape of nothingness.

He calls out, but found his voice drowning in the dark.

Drowning? That's an odd word to describe it.

He couldn't even hear his own voice! He tries to shout louder, harder, but he couldn't hear anything, save for the dripping of water.

Water, here?

Drip, drop.

Once, twice, thrice.

But he couldn't find the source.

It goes on again.

Drip, drop.

Once, twice, thrice.

He turns and turns but can never find where that noise came from. He even began to think his mind is playing tricks on him.

But the sound won't disappear, and he knew it's real, somehow.

He moves his legs and felt water, ankle-high, limiting his movement.

He looks down and would've grumbled about his now wet and dirtied trousers if he could hear his own voice.

But something catches his attention. He saw something on the corner of his eye that distracts him from his dirtied trousers.

Leaves, crescent shaped ones, ones he'd swore he'd saw somewhere before but can't figure out where.

They're numerous, floating on the water and leading to the distance, leaving a path-like trail for him to follow.

And he did. Leaves after leaves he follows, until it leads him to the only thing that exists in this place other than the nothingness, the leaves, his partially wet trousers, and the endless drip drop of water.

A stone door stands in front of him. It's tall, towering. It's thick, deep. It's cold, freezing. It's old, ancient, archaic…

Primordial.

 _Primordial_ , he thinks to himself. He likes the sound of it. It's one of those words you'd hardly hear or use daily, but he loves the sound of it. It just sounds awe inducing and ominous, and it felt like the perfect word to describe this door.

But, he has no idea why that word drifted into his thought the moment his eyes lay on the door. He has no idea why he thought this door's age deserves such a word.

He just knew.

He reaches to the door. He barely touches it and could already feel it shudder.

The door moves, sliding heavily inwards, and a draft of cold air sweeps through, and he recoils from it.

There is something behind the door, something that the door wanted him to see. And he felt there's no need for resistance. He felt that he could trust the door and where it leads to. He felt whatever is behind it deserves his utmost and full attention.

The door wants him to see something.

He wants to see that something.

He passes through the door, and his footsteps will soon vanish from this nothingness and everything becomes silent.

The door slowly closes shut behind him with a heavy shudder that spread ripples across the still water. The ripple travels through this seemingly endless nothingness, and just like this unnatural place, the ripple itself is unnatural in a way that it seems to show no sign of losing momentum. At this rate of no disturbance, the ripple might just grow endlessly, forever.

In this nothingness, nothing could've disturbed this growing ripple. But something did.

A lady in green observes as the ripple softly parts and dissolves after it hits her legs. Her eyes wander slowly from the water and back to the distant door.

She felt what she thought to be anticipation, the pleasant kind. It's a feeling she thought she'd forgotten long ago.

She'd been observing the boy's actions, and she'll continue doing so.

* * *

 **Author's Addendum:**

 ** _What lies beyond the door, no one but she knows._**

 **Well, isn't this a choice of trio combination that rarely happens. I wonder what you guys think of it, and do tell if any of the interactions seems odd or OOC, especially Hannah. She has little material to work with as a writer after all! So feedback is appreciated.**

 **And the POV, do you think a third person like so is better? I'm worried about head-hopping if I try to do that. Just give me a piece of your guys thoughts on it and whether I should go back to first-person or third.**

 **And also, har har, yes, steamed hams is old now but I thought of that interaction back when it was still fresh, and like hell I won't make it here.**

 **Anyhow, wow, this chapter is 9000 words long, far more than I anticipated when I decided to cut it in two. In fact, I've decided to cut it again! The end part of this chapter, about ¼ of the original chapter, has been cut and fitted in the next upcoming chapter instead.**

 **I've no clear idea where I can have it released. Like I said, been busy lately and going to be more busy with midterm exams coming in. So hopefully I'll do great with it and can go back working on this baby with a clear and unburdened conscious.**

 **Also also, those who read my rework chapters might recognize that Hannah callback!**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, ladies and gents. As always, review, and if you haven't, favourite and follow this baby.**

 **Also, this writer just binged a full season of JoJo part 3, and is now on episode 29 of Diamond is Unbreakable. I'm awakened now, I feel like I'm born a new man.**

 **Kakyoin is best brojo, fucking love that man.**

 **Next time on Discount Little Wizard Academia: the kindling of a destiny prepared since the dawn of magic!**

 **P.S. Sorry, Ted, it wasn't a skinwalker after all :(**

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


	25. Alive Again

**Author's Greetings: I can explain.**

 **Hey it's your dead boy rising from the dead. Hey yeah the last time I updated this fanfic was one year ago. Wow yeah let's just jump into it guys!**

* * *

The air had gone cold, Sucy notices this and looks around. The strands of sunlight seeping from above had vanished, but not because of the canopies, the sky itself had gone cloudy, windy, unpleasant even for her. Normally she enjoys this sort of weather; it's the perfect setup for undisturbed potion making.

A fleeting leaf enters her vision. She ignores it at first, but after she notices its peculiar shape, she stops and her eyes follow the falling leaf. She extends her hand and the leaf lands on it. Something about this leaf makes her stop to think. Hannah's laboured breathes didn't manage to take Sucy's attention away from the leaf.

Sucy expects the pompous girl to lecture her again on wasting time not running, despite Hannah herself always being the one out of breath after just a few seconds, mainly because she still stubbornly carries Jerry's backpack. But complains are not what Sucy hears, instead, she hears Hannah's panicked voice cutting through the cold wind.

"S-Sucy! Something's not right".

Sucy looks past Hannah and her eyes immediately widen when she sees the boy's unconscious body sweating and trembling. She immediately places her hand on his chest and her expression takes a twists grimly.

"This is bad, his pulse is racing. He's fine just now, but… something made his heart race".

Jericho's skin is now terribly pale. His lips had lost its healthy red colour, his clothing and hair is soaked with cold sweat, and his breathing is erratic, his chest raises every time he takes sharp, painful breaths. Sucy touches his hand, it was the coldest. She chews on her lips as she tries to think of something, anything.

Hannah doesn't want to ask, she doesn't need to ask. The look on Manbavaran's face and her stressful silence speaks more volumes than she could possibly say.

Hannah swallows. "D-don't tell me…"

Hannah's eyes drift to the boy's pitiful face but she couldn't bear holding it for long, she fears something terrible will suddenly happen and she'll be witnessing it if she keeps looking.

Sucy suddenly stands up and walks away from the boy, her back turned to Hannah who shoots her a questioning look. The clinking of bottles and vials tells Hannah she's up to something.

"What are you doing?" Hannah asks.

"If I can get poison to run in his blood, then maybe it'll kill the monster".

"In his blood?! You'll kill him before it kills that thing!"

"Do you have any better ideas?" Sucy barks. She hates that Hannah still has time to be hesitant in this emergency. Sucy regretted telling her that this is poison, she could've lied and said it's a cure or something; it would've saved them from the pointless bickering.

Hannah quickly understands that Sucy already has her mind set, and that she won't listen to her advices. Hannah looks up and looks to the openings found in the thick canopies. They're wide, but not wide enough. Its width and distance from here would take phenomenal dexterity to fire a flare spell through, something she doubts any of them could pull off. She looks around, but the thick canopies still stretches on for miles, too far for any of them to find the end and fire off a signal for help.

Hannah chews on her lip, she honestly have no idea what to do.

Eventually Sucy breaks her silence, her tone now fitting her usual calmness, "I'm making a poison to kill the thing, not him. The dose will be just enough to kill something of that size but give only discomfort on humans".

Sucy pauses, grimly, before continuing, "Major discomfort".

Hannah shudders at the girl's phrasing, but she's grateful nonetheless—she'll take that any time of the day compared to death.

It takes long gruelling minutes for Sucy to finally finish preparing her poison. She slides beside the cot that the boy rests on and prepares to apply her poison. She slides her hand under the boy's neck to support his head, and she could feel the cold sweat running down her fingers. It's completely soaked his hair and the back of his collar.

An odd silence ensues as Sucy suddenly pauses, not continuing to do anything. She eventually looks up to Hannah and asks, "Do you have a syringe?"

Hannah's flabbergasted. "Do _I_ have a syringe? Do I look like a person that carries a spare syringe wherever I go?"

Sucy shrugs and dismisses the thought. She says nothing else. Without a syringe, she'll have to apply the poison through his mouth. This will take longer for the poison to take effect.

Seeing Sucy about to apply her poison, Hannah grimaced and had to look away.

Sucy brings the poison close to the boy's mouth. In this crucial moment, for all the abilities she has in potion making, Sucy finds herself hesitating. 'Did I make the dose right? What if my ratio was off? What if my ingredient wasn't right? What if it's too potent?' Sucy keeps repeating these to herself, not daring to say this aloud. She's never one for hesitations, especially not in this realm of expertise of hers.

Everything that she sees is enough to convince Sucy that this is not the time for hesitations, but as she sees her vial of poison hanging just above the boy's mouth—its content ready to spill out with just the slightest move of her hand—she couldn't help but realize the weight and risk she holds in her hands. Sucy lingers in this position for what felt like hours to her, her hand suspending what could possibly be the death of Jericho Franklin Jr.

Swallowing every bit hesitation she has in her, Sucy forces her hand to move. The poison now flows into the boy's mouth.

Finished, Sucy gets up but lingers next to the boy for a while, looking at her handiwork and wondering if she did the right thing. Hannah glances at Sucy but doesn't say a word.

,,,

,,,

,,,

 _ **My** eyes gradually open. They're greeted by a bright light, white and sterile. I cover them as they're obnoxiously bright, it makes my head spin. But even closing my eyes I still feel my head spin, I realize it's not the light._

 _"You're awake" I hear someone say from across the room, it's the young nurse. She stops beside my bed, she doesn't look happy—she has a scolding look._

 _"Good grief, you're really troublesome, aren't you?"_

 _My mind can't quite reach what she's referring to, nor do I understand why she's addressing me like she knows me well, but the words are already out before I could even think of them._

 _"It's nice seeing you again"._

 _The nurse says nothing and keeps staring at me, her frown not leaving. In contrast, I know a smile is creeping up my lips, but what caused it exactly? Joy? Amusement? Challenge? Gratitude? I've no idea. My body just knows it's time to smile._

 _Eventually, the nurse says. "I should inform your parents, they should want to hear this"._

 _I lose my smile immediately. The transition must've seemed obvious as the nurse easily picks up on it. Her expression eases, I'll never get to know what she wanted to say to me then because she's interrupted when the door to the infirmary opens and in comes two girls. I know neither, but I know I feel my chest easing the moment I saw their faces. One of them, the red haired one, immediately rushes towards me and pulls me into a tight hug. She eventually let's go but now takes my hands and squeezes them._

 _The girl cries, "What were you thinking?! That was dangerous and oh my gosh I'm so glad you're awake!"_

 _I've no idea of what she's talking about, nor do I know her, but before I knew it, the words already leave my mouth with a smile._

 _"Nice to see you again, Chariot"._

,,,

,,,

,,,

My eyes gradually open. They're greeted by a bright light, yellow and aged. I cover them as they're obnoxiously bright but I immediately feel a sharp pain on my right hand as I try to. The light makes my head spin, but even closing my eyes I still feel my head spin—I realize it's not the light.

What a bizarre dream I just had.

I try to sit up but feel almost no energy in me. My movements are slow, my body lethargic, the same feeling you get when you wake up after too much sleep, the same irritable feeling it entails also present in me now. My throat feels sore, even without trying it I know how much it'll hurt to speak. My right hand feels numb and cold, they're so bad I feel nauseous. My clothes feel uncomfortably sticky, dried sweat clinging onto it, and my hair matted and dirty. I don't feel good at all.

I can hear voices, loud yet indistinct, they ring in my ears. Aside from my hearing and mind, my eyes are blurry as well. It takes a second for the world around me to become clear, and the first thing I see is red hair in front of me.

"How many fingers am I holding?" Amanda's American accented voice is distinct, if not dizzying in my state.

I continue blinking and just staring into nothingness. I do get what Amanda's saying, but I don't want to reply just yet—my throat is too parched to say anything.

I stay in this passive state until I feel a great slap across my cheek—it brings me back to earth. I could hear loud gasps following right after the slap landed.

I rub the stinging sensation away. Despite being on the receiving end, I'm not the one that confronts Amanda about this first. "What the hell are you doing, Amanda? He just woke up!" A voice, I think its Hannah's, yells.

"What? I was just helping him!" Amanda shouts, not a single drop of guilt in her voice.

My eyes begin to regain focus and so do my hearing, and soon the world around me settles. I could feel the familiar cracked leather of the bus seat beneath my fingertips and I could hear the rolling wheels on paved roads—we're on the move. The sky outside is already darkening, approaching dusk. I'm on the back-most seat of the bus, my friends gathered around me, some more distant but their gazes are equally on me. I spot Hannah sitting with Barbara farthest on the front row seats. She's on her feet, looking back at me from her seat, her upset expression is directed to Amanda and not me. Hannah says nothing else. She rolls her eyes and groans obviously before returning to her seat, never to look back here for the rest of the trip back.

I rub the last stinging sensation away. Amanda has some sort of grin, she seems happy to see me awake, but that grin disappears when I glare at her.

"Don't hit me again", I say, my throat hurts just saying that. It might've come off too rude for my liking, but right now I just don't care. My head is throbbing like crazy and Amanda's little joke isn't helping.

"You fell unconscious and we backpedalled hard", Sucy says. Just then I realize she's sitting right next to me. "We got the flower, though".

I sit upright and look around. Sitting near the backseat of the bus and gathered around me are Jasminka, Constanze, Sucy, and Amanda. They all have their eyes on me although with varying degrees of worry.

Jasminka looks worried the most but she seems considerably happier now that I'm up. She offers me something, a water bottle. "Want some?"

I take the bottle without another word, at this point it tastes like sweet nectar made in heaven. While I drink, Amanda continues. "Good thing we ran into you man, you were pale as a ghost when we found your team. Also if you're wondering, my team got the assignment to grab some Devil's Crowns, man it was hard even for me…"

Amanda's words trail off. Alongside the others, she stares at me speechlessly as I gulp down the entire two litre bottle in one go. I hand the empty bottle back to Jasminka before slumping back on my seat. I stare at the ceiling, "My head hurts".

"You did lose blood, must feel like some sort of terrible hangover", Sucy says.

I lost blood? I didn't remember any blood from the bite.

I give Sucy a sidelong gaze. Even without me saying it, she should know I want her to explain more, but she doesn't try to meet my demand. She even looks away, something I don't often see the girl do.

I sigh quietly. Right now I couldn't care less on what happened, the only thing filling my mind is how absurdly uncomfortable my own body feels. I close my eyes. "I feel like shit".

I unbutton a bit. My dirtied clothes make me damp and uncomfortable. If no one's around I would've taken off my clothes completely. Funny how even in this moment of great discomfort I have my limits.

My mind tries to rest but I couldn't make it rest. I can't describe it well, I don't want to, I feel in pain, I just want to rest and be rid of every feeling. It's hard, but I eventually drift to slumber.

—

It's already dark by the time we arrive at school. The crowd of student disperses from the busses, but they linger on the courtyard where the busses are parked, talking to friends about their experience during the fieldtrip. I couldn't join them, and even if I do, I doubt I have anything nice to say. Instead, one of the school nurses has been summoned here to treat me right away.

"How do you feel?" the old nurse asks.

I say nothing and direct my tired glare at her, profanities would've followed if my throat is comfortable enough to speak them.

"I'll take that as terrible", the nurse says. She hands me a glass filled with liquid that not at all looks delectable. "Drink that. I can't promise it'll taste good. After this, make sure you eat lots, and I mean lots. You can't afford to have an empty stomach after what you went through".

I just hum my response before I drink the potion; I have no problem ignoring the disgusting taste if it means I'll be rid of this banging sickness.

One person separates herself from the group to see me, only one person comes to see how I'm doing (I later know this is because the fieldtrip participants' work isn't done yet. Regardless, my currently clueless self feels ignored). It's the young Professor Ursula, she says, "Michelle's currently occupied, she sent me to look after you in her stead. How are you feeling, dear?"

'Dear'? That's surprisingly nice to be addressed as.

I don't even glance at her. Again, I hum my response before diligently continuing drinking the potion.

Professor Ursula sits next to me. I don't need to look to know her expression is one of worry. She glances at my arm and says, "Thankfully the wound didn't fester".

My right hand, it's now bandaged from my elbow to my palms that it spares no skin to be visible. It's hard to describe the pain there. It's cold and it feels like my hand is about to fall off at any moment.

Two right hand injuries in one week, it's as if the whole universe is on a competition on who can fuck my right hand up the most.

"Cold, I feel cold", I finally mumble. I press my lip to the mouth of the glass but don't drink. I don't look up to meet her eyes. "Is this normal?"

"You lost blood", the nurse says. "It's very normal. As for your direct wound, you're bitten by a tunnelling Chequemaker, native to the area. It's not uncommon that victims of their bite have their wounds fester from all the bacteria their insect diet gave them. You're one lucky kid".

There they go again with the blood loss. I don't remember having my blood lost.

"What young Manbavaran did was no less heroic" the nurse adds, surprising me. "I heard she didn't tell you you're in danger, her decision actually saved you. If she hadn't lied to you and you panicked, we might not be having this conversation right now".

I stop. I look to the nurse.

The nurse, understanding my confusion, adds, "You got your blood sucked, kid".

Blood sucked, blood sucked… Sucy didn't tell me this. She completely lied about the bite not being harmful, then, and it's a good thing she did? My mind tells me that is the right thing to do but my body screams against it, it's like they're desperate to find someone to blame for my situation, it is always easier to deal with pain when there's something to blame, after all.

Unfortunately there's no one to blame. But while I'm grateful of Sucy's help, I also hate her for lying—I feel like I should blame her.

Wait what am I saying? Use your head, she's a hero!

But she lied, it hurts my heart!

Man, feelings are hard.

The nurse adds, "You're going to be alright kid, they've already transfused some blood for you when you're out".

Perhaps noticing my discomfort at the topic, Professor Ursula promptly says to the nurse, "Please, now might not be a good time to talk about the details".

The nurse looks surprised. "Right, sorry".

Without warning, the professor places her hand on my forehead. She looks directly at my eyes. "You're cold", she says, gently. This gesture makes me indescribably warm inside. A soft smile eventually shows on the professor—it overwhelms my already overwhelmed heart. "The cafeteria should be closed at this hour, but I've asked the chef to prepare a special dish for you, you'll need it", Professor Ursula says, the nurse nods in approval.

Warm food, I didn't realize my body's been craving for it. I don't realize the smile making its way to my lips as the thought of warm food passes my mind. I look back to my drink once the professor's warm hand leaves my temple. Feeling grateful at the relatively simple gesture, I thank the professor.

I don't think much of what to say, it just rolls out of my tongue naturally. "Thank you, Chariot".

I don't hear any reaction from the professor. She makes no reply to my thanks. Curious, I try to see her face but she's already up before I could. Barely meeting my eyes, the professor eventually says, "W-well, it's time for me to go, I think. Get well soon".

The professor smiles briefly at the nurse before she leaves, she doesn't spare a moment to look back at all. There's a silence after she left, the nurse and I don't share any words for a minute or two as I, to the nurse's amusement, continue drinking the potion diligently.

"What's this?" I ask after taking another sip.

"Chicken liver, spinach, egg yolk, raisins, papayas, chilli, beans, and a bit of cooked lamb".

I take another sip. "It tastes good".

"You have problems", the nurse says. I smile tiredly at my drink.

After that is the cafeteria. I sit alone in the dark room, only one light, the one directly above my table, shines. It's quite a depressing scene, there's this indescribable feeling when you're alone in a place that's usually crowded.

I spent the entire first half of my dinner alone, swallowing two portions of food to the chef's delight. The goblin chef, either amused or sympathizing, comes up to me in my quiet dinner. The conversation that ensued was quite one-sided—I absolutely didn't mind. He tells me of his story as a goblin chef just like his father and grandfather before him, serving as cooks to many happy stomachs throughout ages. His story is simple and straightforward, but they make me comfortable tonight.

After that is my bed, I was born for it. With a full stomach, I drift into an undisturbed sleep.

,,,

,,,

,,,

The crackle of fireworks immediately disturbs me out of my sleep. I open my eyes, beyond surprised, only to shut them again as another firework pops.

Why would there be a firework going off in my room? Unless... its a dream. I have to be dreaming, but why is it...

I promptly move my hands over where I'm laying. I feel a stone's surface, rough and cold instead of my soft bed sheet's warmth, and I could hear sounds surrounding me-the chirping of insects and the rustling of leaves and grasses-ones that I shouldn't be hearing in my bedroom. I finally found the courage to open my eyes, and sure enough, I find myself not in my room anymore but one an open grassy field, where I sit on a stone fence on top of a rolling hill. It's nighttime.

I glance around, confused beyond belief. I know this has to be a dream, but how am I perceiving this dream so vividly?

I move my hands in front of me, studying it briefly before bringing them to my face, I can feel with them properly.

This is like my last dream, the one I had when I was out at the bus, this feels very real.

However, no matter how strong my senses are, I couldn't _feel_ my body. _I_ can't move my body, not an inch. When my body moves, like I just did with my hands earlier, it wasn't me that wanted it to do so: my body seemingly moved without me telling it to, and won't move when I tell it to. It... feels like I'm a pilot without its steering wheels.

Case in point, when I feel my mouth open to a yawn, my hands already rush to cover it without me ordering it to. Before I could wrap my head around this bizarre phenomenon of a dream I'm experiencing, a girl's voice, upset, appears in front of me.

 _"You're sleeping, i-is it that boring?!"_

I'm broken out of my drowsiness upon being addressed. I'm surprised to find a red haired girl standing in front of me. I recognize this girl; I saw before in my previous dream. She puffs her cheeks at me and doesn't look pleased at all.

Before I knew it I feel guilt—I've no idea why, my body just feels guilty. I have no idea what this girl's referring to as well, but the words already leave my mouth before I could even think of them. _"No! Totally it was amazing"._

Ah! It happened again! My body moved on its own and it even makes me speak out of my will this time!

The red haired girl doesn't believe what 'I' said at all. She continues puffing her cheeks at me, though no one can take her seriously at how adorable she looks that way.

 _"Just accept that your flashy performance magic aren't cool, Chariot"._ Another voice says from beside me, foreign to me. But once I turn around, I find a girl I could recognize on my own. It's the other girl I saw in my last dream, she sits beside me on the stone fence, her lilac hair flowing with the night breeze.

 _"Croix!"_ Chariot directs her pout to the girl I knew now to be Croix, it makes her smile smugly.

Croix shrugs, _"What can I say? I'm not the only one that's bored"._

Before I knew it, before I even made the order to, my head already moves to a nod and my mouth already moves to a chuckle. _"That's true"._

It happened again! Why did I say that? Why am I doing things I didn't ask my body to do?

What in the world is happening? What is this dream? However lucid it is, I feel like I'm a foreigner in my own body: however strong I could feel my own body, I have no control of it. While my mind is my own, my body feels like it isn't. I feel like a spectator inside of... someone else, seeing through its eyes just as clear as I would normally through mine and know what its thinking as clear as I would with mine.

As the dream progresses, things suddenly become even worse. What started as me having some semblance of control over my mind-being free to think of anything-I begin to lose hold of it, if that even makes sense. Just like my body, my mind begins to be more and more out of my control—I suddenly think what I don't usually think, I say what I'm not even intending to say, and I know things that I'm not supposed to have any knowledge of—my thoughts are not my own.

Slowly, I lose any sense of my 'real' self as I slowly begin to feel the mind of whoever I'm residing in overpowering me. Soon, my mind is completely not my own-it no longer bears the ideas and memories of Jericho, but someone else's. It whispers to me memories, ones that I shouldn't have, and makes me feel like I've had it since forever. Like a film where all I can do is sit and watch, 'my' mind shows me 'my' memories, myself just an audience as my mind shows me memories that I shouldn't have. It tells me that I've always loved Chariot's fireworks. That while they're not spectacularly distinct from any other fireworks, its the creator that is.

'My' mind tells me that this place, this feeling, these friends, hold a special place in my heart. It tells me that I never said it to these two but being here with them, in this quiet rolling hill like it's our secret base, always reminds of the first time I saw them.

My mind remembers, I was crying. I just ran for hours, farther than I thought I could ever run. I felt terrible then, cold, but I didn't let the cold bother me. I felt dead inside anyway—no amount of cold air can freeze me.

My mind remembers, the stars were pretty that night but I didn't look up to see—they look too pretty for a night this terrible—it's as if they're just there to mock me, to mock my misfortune as they glimmer brilliantly, indifferent to my black feelings. They're up there in their endless splendour, laughing at me down below who has no light.

My mind remembers, I had no idea what I was doing there. I had no idea what to do. I was so clueless I even thought of spending the night here—it would've been times better than back home. Depressing as it was, I was prepared for a quiet night here accompanied only by the cold howling wind and the laughing stars, that's why when a firework crackles not far from me it completely took me by surprise. The stars couldn't do it, but the firework could, I look up just in time to see the firework itself, bright red and beautiful, its light manages to overpower the stars'.

My mind remembers how another firework followed, and another, and another. I couldn't take my eyes off them, I'm as charmed by them as I'm irritated—I didn't expect nor want anything to bother me right now, especially if it's cheerful. Nonetheless, as another firework climbed up the night sky, my legs took me forward, to where I thought they all originated from.

My mind remembers how I met a small rolling hill and saw there two girls in school uniforms—my school's uniform. One of them was on her feet, heartily waving her wand around and with each swing she sent another one of her marvellous fireworks. The fireworks were one thing, but the girl was special in a different way. The way she had her smile, how passionate she looked when she casted her spell, was captivating for me. My mind remembers how befuddled I was looking at her, how at that time I'm surprised that I never knew someone could look so happy when using magic—no one ever taught me it could be like that.

My mind remembers that the firework girl was speaking with her friend. This second girl was seated, watching the performance alone like a single devout audience. They're talking, their quips and jokes got to me—they're funny.

My mind remembers that they're completely unaware of my presence then, I'm after all still a distance away from them, observing them quietly, finding joy in my heart in just doing that. Their happiness is infectious, my mind remembers that before I knew it, my tears had stopped _._

,,,

,,,

,,,

My sleep felt short, I didn't expect the sun to already be up when I open my eyes. As I lay on my bed, too lazy to move, I can't help but think of the bizarre dream I had. However bizarre my dream was, for now I convince myself that the odd situation I found myself in there was something close or related to lucid dreaming, but that doesn't answer the second part of the mystery.

Those two girls, why do I have two dreams with the same people in both?

I stir on my bed, and in that moment I realize most of my malaise had been broken, some portion of my sickness stays alongside the sharp pain on my right hand.

I stretch my body as best I can with my injured hand as I walk up to the mirror, what I see there is the physical manifestation of mess—my hair looks dishevelled like a bush, eyes red and barely open, clothes unbuttoned at some parts, and dried saliva coats my chin. But as disturbing my looks may be, they're the least of my worries.

Consecutive dreams, are they normal? No, what even _is_ normal in this nonsensical world of magic?

What I remember from the dreams is vague, but two names keep ringing in my head ever since I experienced the second.

Chariot and Croix. Why do I feel like I miss them?

* * *

 **Author's Exit: Hello, my hand hurts a lot two days ago. It was so bad that my stomach hurts and eventually I got a fever and I literally couldn't do anything but rest for two days. At least it served to make me better illustrate Jerry's hand injury. Silver lining where there is I guess.**

 **Anyhow, like I said on my last author's notes (that came out like last year), I was busy revising/reworking the old chapters (1 to 5), and I did, I finished doing that. They're also the reason for this very slow update but since they're completed and I'm still on my vacation days, expect more chapters soon!**

 **Like always, like review comment subscribe what?**

 **P.S. if you actually want to read what I reworked, you should just read chapter 3 and 4, they're the ones that's super different and I think is enjoyable but just like my previous reworks, they don't have any affect on the present story so you can entirely skip them if you want to!**


	26. Questions

**Author's Notes: first weeks of the new semester really got me busy, not to mention lots of home works from them and organization things. Sorry for being late, but here I am to deliver another chapter.**

 **Now, this chapter is originally around 9000 words long, but I decided to split it in two. Hopefully, the next chapter will come sooner since its already got some meat in it as I type this AN.**

 **Big announcement in the end. Good luck reading this mess.**

* * *

"That's good, you're still sick but your recovery was good, must be from your diligent consumption of the potion".

The nurse stops checking my throat. She was using a light spell from her wand to do so.

Finished, she places her wand on the table beside the bed I'm sitting on, and looks me over from head to toe. She asks,

"Anything you'd like to report other than the usual? Any new discomfort, pain, or general inconvenience?"

"Just my hand", I say, unconsciously rubbing it as I speak. "It hurts more and more, and it feels numb".

"How badly?"

"I can't do anything with it now, sharp pain at the slightest pressure. I have cold sweats from them. They hurt especially after I wake up".

I pause for a minute, casting my eyes to my hand.

"I have trouble concentrating on anything because of it, even sleeping".

The nurse says nothing and goes to her corner.

She opens a cabinet, revealing various medicinal herbs—traditional witch medicine—drugs, and medical equipment consisting of both traditional and modern equipment.

Without looking to me, she says,

"You shouldn't use it for anything. Give it a rest for a few days then see if it gets better or worse. For now, I'll give you some pills. It'll help with the pain if it's too much".

She comes back and places a jar of orange pills on my good hand.

The nurse then steps back and places her hands on her hips.

"So, anything else?"

I shake my head.

"No."

The nurse nods and goes to her desk, saying,

"Well you better get back then, it's getting late isn't it? Don't stay up too late, you're far from being fit—you still need lots rest. Try not to push yourself too hard with anything for a few days".

I silently play with the jar, feeling it on my hand. I stare blankly at it, and after a lengthy silence, I say,

"There's another thing".

This catches the nurse's attention, but she remains seated behind her desk.

I continue. "I have no idea if it's related at all or not, but I've been having these weird dreams ever since the accident".

The nurse questions this, asking

"Nightmares? Everyone has nightmares, more so those who're stressed about something".

"I'm not stressed, nor are they nightmares—they're something else".

I've regained the nurse's full attention again.

She leaves her desk and walks over to the bed I'm sitting on and sits beside me.

I've wanted to ask about this for a while now, but now that I have the opportunity to, I've no idea what to ask. The question is there in my head, but it's hard put it into words. It's more difficult still since I'm conscious at how awkward and outright weird for someone to ask this, and consciously I try to not make me sound like a fool by asking too stupid questions.

Hell, I'm starting to think I'm a fool for being worried about this in the first place.

What am I going to ask, even? What am I supposed to tell her? The truth? That I feel I'm in some bizarrely vivid dream where I feel like I'm someone else in them?

I'd just make myself look like a complete loony saying that.

Unconfident, I look to her and change my question.

"What's the significance of dreams for witches?"

The question might've come off as weird asked by any other person in this school, but not me. The nurse understands this just fine, she nods and says,

"We're not that different; dreams are dreams for us. They're just what our head makes up for us when we sleep".

I reply with nothing—no words nor gesture.

I look away and gaze down at the jar in my hand.

The nurse must've thought this as dissatisfaction, as she soon continues.

"Now there are instances where dreams have divination values but believe me or not, that's rare even among witches. I'm not the person you should be asking when it comes to this subject. Dreams and the visions they could potentially entail is in divination magic's realm of expertise. You should consult with your professor on this".

"Professor Ursula…"

The nurse nods. She stands up from the bed and says,

"Go now if you intend to talk to her, it's getting late".

I look to the clock, solitary in decorating the white and boring walls of the infirmary, its short hand pointing at the number five.

Going to Professor Ursula, that's a good idea.

Hopefully what I'm experiencing will make sense to her and she doesn't see me as a loony.

—

It's been two days since the incident. What my world was before and after somehow feels a world away and it's not because of my injury.

Something's different. Lately people around me are different. I couldn't see it, but I could feel everything changing around me: quiet distant stares that disperse once I turn around, whispers behind my back, and the subtle differences in people's behaviour and gesture when we talk; they're different from before.

These are what I've realized been happening around me—they did not go over my head.

Everyone in this school sees me differently now because they all now know I'm a first generation wizard now.

Before I could even be relieved of my physical injuries, this second wave of torment arrives to my shores.

Even now as I walk through the hallways alone, I couldn't feel relaxed. The entire atmosphere of this school changes for me with just the spreading of a rumour.

I try to bury this foreboding feeling. I tell myself that I'm being paranoid. I tell myself that this place is my own school, that there's no reason to feel alienated in it.

I shouldn't let these negative thoughts grow.

I need to find the professor, just that.

Don't think about any other stupid things and just be done with it.

Before I can reach the professor's room however, I'm stopped when I meet someone unexpected. I find Sucy. Or rather, she finds me.

I immediately fold my arms the moment she blocks my path. I'm not in the mood for disruptions. "Make it quick".

And quick to the point Sucy is. She takes out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and swings it around in front of my face.

"Since you're out yesterday, our team was one man short and we had troubles finishing up the assignment".

Sucy's brows arch and she pauses when she notices my scowl. Before she could even ask, I turn my face away from her and scoff, "I'm fine. Thanks for asking".

"You're the one who asked me to make it quick", Sucy says flatly.

"You're not supposed to take my words literally".

Her brows furrowed deeply, Sucy groans, "What are you, a girl?"

My scowl deepens and I feel a twitch on my eye. I can't make up any comeback—she got me there.

I click my tongue. "At least pretend you're worried".

"I was so concerned for your health", Sucy says, promptly not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.

I snort at that.

Eventually my scowl fades, replaced by a frown that I try to hide from the girl. Words barely louder than a mumble, I break the silence that's starting to grow between us.

"By the way, Su…"

My words trail off as soon as it starts, confusing the pale girl. My eyes begin to shift uneasily across the corridor, anywhere but towards Sucy.

Sucy picks up on my uneasy behaviour, but she says nothing, instead waiting for me to come out of it myself on my own time. In some way I'm grateful of her apathy—I prefer it in some way. If now in front of me is someone like Akko or Jasminka, they would already barrage me with a ton of questions the moment I show uneasiness.

My eyes are planted firmly on my feet, unable to look anywhere close to the girl. Scratching the back of my head, I say, clearly at the beginning but turning to a mumble in the end, "I haven't said thanks, though. So thank you, for helping me".

I could only look at Sucy straight in the eyes for a split second before looking away again as a blush quickly forms on my cheeks.

I'm _never_ good at this kind of things.

Sucy's eyes slightly widen for just a brief moment, but I notice it nonetheless. In some way, it's amusing every time I managed to surprise her like that. I even see it as a personal achievement considering how rarely she seems surprised by anything.

"Welcome", the girl says, her cool returning to her so quickly it felt like it's never gone in the first place.

Now that what needs to be said is said, there's no reason to linger on this topic anymore; it only brings back bad memories and worse the mood, if mine today isn't already terrible to begin with.

I'm quietly grateful that Sucy is quick to move the conversation elsewhere without being prompted to.

"If that's done, I'm to tell you we'll finish our assignment tonight." The pale witch says as she returns her paper to her pocket. "Try to ditch and you'll be found in a ditch".

"Rhymes, that's cute, Sucy".

Sucy shrugs. "Actually, Hannah was the one that said that to me, thought I'd share the good news with you".

A frown comes to me but I immediately supress it from showing. My silent groan also goes under the pale girl's attention.

That's right, Hannah's on my team. I'm to spend the night with one of the two persons responsible for spreading the rumour that I'm a first-generation wizard around the school.

I knew full well Hannah and Barbara are going to start spreading this information like wildfire the moment they found out about it, but why do I still feel hurt about it?

I thought I'd feel something more akin to anger for them, but turns out I feel… sad? Disappointed? Betrayed? Why would I even feel that? I've never expected anything good for neither of the two.

Between the two, I'd spend more time with Hannah but even then she's still far from what I'd call a friend. There's literally no reason for me to expect her or Barbara to treat me like a friend. So why do I still feel hurt of what they did?

Regardless of how I feel however, I'll be forced to meet Hannah later for our group assignment. Hard as it may be, I should take it in stride, just ignore her and be done with our group work as quick as possible—there's no need to mingle too long with her and risk her bugging me further.

I take a deep breath through my mouth before continuing. I'm considerably calmer, if not more sombre now.

"I'll see you tonight then?"

Sucy nods. "Just remember the ultimatum and you'll find yourself not lacking motivation".

—

This is the first time I've ever seen a professor's personal room, or step foot into it.

Professor Ursula's room is generously sized, shaped like an observatory, with numerous shelves lining the wall and stairs that lead to a small upper level, where a large window hangs there, providing a great view of the moon and stars outside.

I'm seated while the professor prepares tea.

After exchanging the proper pleasantries and going through the questions regarding my health, I talk about the reason for my visit.

"Consecutive dreams?" She asks in repeat.

She pauses pouring her tea to face me.

I start off hesitantly.

"Y-yes, I've experienced similar dreams twice now".

I feel absent, my mind elsewhere even now in front of someone else.

Professor Ursula catches my far off look and asks,

"Are you alright?"

I realize I haven't kept eye contact with the professor.

I face her again and blink before shaking my head,

"Nothing, I'm… fine. I just have lots going in my head".

Burying my last distracting thoughts, I clear my throat before continuing,

"A-anyway, aside from them being consecutive, they're also very vivid. It almost feels like I'm awake in them".

For a moment, my mouth hangs open but nothing comes out of it as I hesitate over what to say. It's a quick second decision. I purposely change my mind and hold the arguably weirdest part of my dream: that I feel like I'm someone else in those dreams. I feel like it's not the time yet to say such bizarre detail, least I'll make the professor think I'm talking pure nonsense. The hardest thing keeping me away from my answers is, perhaps, my unwillingness to even ask my questions out of fear that I'd sound unhinged.

I sigh unevenly.

Having averted my gaze, I return them to the professor and instead add,

"I came to you because I don't believe they're just dreams. And if I can, I'd like to know their meaning".

The professor hands a cup of tea to me. It's comfortably warm and smells very nice.

"You think they're not just dreams? What makes you think that?" She asks.

I bring the cup close to my lips and say,

"I… don't even know. I'm just listing some possible explanations for my odd series of dreams. I heard divinity magic can conjure some strange dreams, so here I am".

After a momentary pause, I add,

"I asked the nurse about it a bit, she told me that if I'm sure some divinity magic is related to these dreams, I should go to you".

"Well, what do you dream about?"

"People I don't know." I answer as Professor Ursula takes a sit in front of me. She patiently waits for me to continue on my own time. Unsure, my gaze escapes to my own reflection on my tea. "…but, I feel like I _do_ know them".

This confuses the professor. She blinks and asks,

"Well, which one is it, then?"

Realizing how ambiguous I'm sounding, I race to correct myself,

"I-I know now, being awake and conscious, that I have no idea who they are. But when I was in my dreams I feel familiar of them, close to them even".

I chew on my lip as I suppress a grimace.

There it is. I said it: the part where I start to make no sense at all. Amazing how I made myself more ambiguous in my attempt to elaborate my earlier ambiguous statement.

It's difficult to explain what I'm going through since even I have no idea what I'm going through, so how do I hope the professor to understand something even I don't?

I'm aware that I may sound like an idiot asking these questions.

I swallow dryly. Forcing the nervousness out of me, I draw a quick breath in and say,

"Two girls, I remember seeing the same two girls twice in two of my dreams. I've never seen them in my life, but I feel like I recognize them".

The professor's response doesn't come for a long time and I don't blame her. I can imagine how confused she must be.

Gazing directly at me, the professor says,

"Well, maybe your dreams are weird because, well, they're just dreams. Illogical things happen. You might find yourself able to fly in your dreams and your brain won't even question that at all because, well, your brain is in a dream. Chances are those faces you see are not real people, they're just made up by your head. Maybe you're worrying about this too much".

My mouth opens, but seconds pass and I couldn't say a thing. No matter how much I want to argue, I can't find any worthwhile.

The professor lightly shrugs.

"They're called dreams for a reason".

Quietly, I bring the cup's mouth to my lip but don't drink.

"Just dreams, huh?" I mumble.

Honestly I feel disappointed of her answer; it wasn't anything specific, she probably had no idea what to say to me. I even get the idea that she's dismissing my worries entirely as nonsensical, hence her unspecific answer. She must be thinking that whatever nonsensical thing I'm experiencing isn't worthy of my worry, and hers as well.

However, I'm entirely proven wrong about that.

While she doesn't understand fully what I'm going through, that doesn't mean she isn't concerned for me.

Her not understanding what I'm going through doesn't stop her from worrying about me.

With a smile that I initially avoided looking, the professor declares softly,

"If anything serious happens, if anything does make you worried, I'm open to talk to anytime, okay?"

She says that with her warm smile that never left her lips, it's infectious and I know its genuine, it makes me feel better now knowing at least one person cares for my troubles. I can't believe I'd thought otherwise of her.

I might be staring too long at the professor.

She's already halfway through her tea when I finally snap out of my daze and stop staring at her. I drink as well, letting my worries slip for a moment, only focusing on the delicate taste of the tea and its warmth going down my throat.

Silence surrounds the two of us, the comfortable one, where none feels awkward about it. However, even though I look calm from the outside, I'm currently thinking hard on the professor's answers and what I'm going to say next.

I soon come to some kind of conclusion, a solution to my communication problem.

I shouldn't be here to find the meaning of my dreams—no one in this room, or daresay, in this academy could help me with that—instead, I should find a way to discern whether divinity magic was involved with my dreams or not; I need a method to know if my dreams are just dreams or if they mean something. That will guarantee a much better answer.

After the silence, the warm tea, and the professor's reassuring words, or simply because I've made found a better strategy, I feel more comfortable and confident asking my next question. I know what to ask this time.

I adjust my seat and lean forward towards the professor,

"If dreams could be more than dreams through divinity magic, how am I supposed to be sure my dreams are not?"

The professor gives me a lopsided grin as she studies me with raised brows in amusement. "You're insistent, aren't you?"

I feel my cheeks redden slightly. I try to cover it by bringing the cup to my mouth again.

"Just answer." I whisper hoarsely. "Also, you told me to not mind my dreams, but if I were to relax, if I were to drop this, I'd damn better be sure my dreams are nothing more than just dreams after all".

The professor nods as she proceeds to her answer.

"Dreams could be more than dreams if divinity magic, albeit a very, very advanced form of it, is involved". The professor says.

She stops to settle her cup to her thighs, before asking

"Do you feel like you've been involved with any sort of divinity magic prior to the dreams?"

My mind reels to the events of the days before, the professor generously gives me time to think. However, hard I try, I find no memory of being involved in any divinity magic. I'm never involved with that kind of magic in the first place since, like the professor just said, they're generally advanced.

"I'm sure I didn't".

"I'm sure you'd notice if you do, divinity magic is quite flashy, after all". The professor says.

She takes another sip of her tea before continuing.

"I suppose this should act as an assurance to my previous suggestion: if you're not sure that you've been involved with any divinity magic, then your dreams are as meaningless, in a manner of speaking, as common dreams, nothing to get worked up about. And if you're still unsure, just try and give it two or more days, see if your consecutive dreams still persist".

The professor ends the statement with a slim smile.

I nod. "Just wait. I can do that".

I figured this is it.

This is the end of the professor's answers. It isn't too bad.

I finally got some sort of satisfying answer.

Indeed, if I want to know whether these dreams are special, I just need to wait and see whether those two mysterious girls come to visit me again.

But that's when it occurred to me.

Those two girls in my dreams, they both wore Luna Nova uniforms.

Are they, perhaps, real persons?

* * *

 **Author's Notes: It's a heavy heart do I share this news that our beloved writer, RomanViking, has put an indefinite hiatus, permanent one even, on his internationally celebrated fanfic: Little Wizard Academia. I've been informed to share this news here even after his announcement on his own latest chapter's author's notes to spread the news further. 'Who knows someone here cares about him', was what I thought when I write this.**

 **He's gone somewhere, but not out of this block; he's still alive and kicking, and most importantly, still writing.**

 **Yes, RomanViking is still writing, only now he writes for another fandom: My Little Pony.**

 **Details on his new MLP story and when it'll be published is better explained in Roman's own author's notes of his newest chapter. I suggest you read it if you need more information.**

 **But worry not, RomanViking won't stop dipping his long Caucasian nose on the Little Witch Academia anytime soon. After a long discussion, he's agreed to supervise me in my endeavor in writing this fanfic; he's become my editor.**

 **His first editorial feat as my editor was advising me to divide this chapter into two. Applaud him ladies and gentlemen. I think it's a good call.**

 **And with this editor guy, you'll probably begin to find differences in writing styles in this chapter and the many next coming.**

 **On the same note, I'm here to make an announcement that I'll perhaps soon change the general POV of this fanfic into a third person perspective. More details on this will come. If God wills the next chapter will already have this new perspective.**

 **Do tell if this decision bothers you.**

 **For three years RomanViking has wrote. For three years RomanViking has brought abomination after abomination into this world. For three years he's entertained us.**

 **Yet RomanViking's soul, indeed, lives on in this fanfic, as its editor.**

 **How poetic, RomanViking. A man as splendid and as fleeting as a bubble.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Author's Notes: It's been too long, I know, and there's no fancy reason; life's busyness just caught up to me. My changing style of writing also made this update super late. Now I've decided to write around 2 to 4 chapters ahead before uploading any next chapters so I'm not running in blind. This takes time, but the end results much better. What you're reading now is one of the 3 chapters I've already prepared. The rest two still require some polishing, but they're otherwise already fine.** **Also changing is the POV. I've decided to turn this story into a third-person perspective. This is due to many reasons, and a more flexible and better story-telling is the biggest. This is still experimental, so responses are welcome.**

 **Happy reading. As always, reviews are welcome!**

* * *

 _Jericho feels light like the air, weightless and without control, but also heavy like metal, grounded to the floor with no way of escaping it. His mind is clear yet muddy at the same time, able to make out the details around him yet unable to rationalize. Only his eyes he can trust, only with them can he really perceive his surroundings._

 _Tall ceilings, cold stone walls, finely carpeted floors, and beautifully framed windows. This is Luna Nova as he knows it._

' _Oh heavens', he'd bit his lip if he could, 'it's one of those dreams again'._

 _Without control, his feet takes him somewhere he's unfamiliar, yet they walk without a hint of doubt, not a single pause they give. They take him to_ _a place in the school he's never seen before._

 _The room is wide and dark. Thick square pillars jut from the ground to support the ceiling. Only the end of the room has light. It comes from three tall yet narrow windows that lets the midnight moon outside shine through. There's a statue of three women. They must be beautiful to behold during the day, but under the dark of night they're ominous and eerie. They stand at the corner of the room with their unblinking eyes, like silent watchmen watching over the room long after their own times._

 _His feet takes him to the centre of the room as if they knew what this place is and what to do in here._

 _The clouds outside shift and simmer, revealing the full moon in its full glory._

 _The moon was a haunting blue. Its mysterious pale light washes over the room._

 _The ground suddenly quakes and shifts. The cobblestone floor suddenly collapses between themselves in an orderly manner, almost mechanical-like. It reveals a flight of stairs. It leads to nothing but unbearable darkness. Yet once again, he's no control as he's seemingly dragged into it._

 _Human masonry gives way to untouched soil and stone, cut not by the hands of men but by the elements. Only darkness accompany him, opposed only by the meagre light from a wand. Still, his feet takes him with certainty._

 _Until he meets a wide opening, so wide and tall that the light of his wand could not reveal everything. Multiple corridors connect to the room, serving as their only entrance and exit. They're all identical in shape and size. If someone were to grab him and spin him around he's sure he'd be lost._

 _A wild wind blows through the opening. Unnatural; no wind could blow this far down. Paranormal. Suddenly he starts to shiver, and it's not because of the cold wind._

 _The wind centres in the middle of the opening, dead leaves and dust takes off in its wake. They spiral and spin, until a light appears in the centre of it all, cutting through the darkness. It's as unnatural and as unknown as the cold blowing wind._

 _And then, a deathly face appears in the middle of the light. Pale green and ghostly. It wails to him, angrily._

 _The air felt like it dropped along with his stomach. Cold fear begins to wrap around his body, seeping right through his ribcage and into his heart._

 _Oh how the wailing never stops, tearing at his ears and soul. Oh how cold the tendrils that clutch around him, dragging him further and further into the darkness. He felt like he screamed, but he can't tell, not with how loud the endless wailings are._

 _Ethereal green hand, clawed and rigid like wood reaches out to him, towards his forehead. He's exposed, vulnerable. He could die._

* * *

Jericho wakes up with a start. In one swift move he's already sat up on his bed, the abrupt movement making his head spin and stars fill his vision. The boy's hand clung to his chest, feeling the wet shirt wrapped around him. Only after he feels his rapidly rising chest does he realize how hard he's breathing for air. Slowly, his breathing slows, and his fingers slip off from his clothes.

His head swivels around, his mind blank. It takes a moment for him to realize he's in his room. He couldn't remember how and when he fell asleep. He only knew that some time has passed and that the bright midday sun is starting its afternoon dip, its unbearable heat gone.

The boy grips his blanket and stares at his hands.

 _What the hell was that dream? So vivid… like the rest._

The dream left him feeling dehydrated and disoriented. It's a mystery to him what day was it today and what's lead him to sleeping in his room. Before he took in the afternoon sun, he couldn't even figure out what time is it—if it's the morning before class or if his sleep was an afternoon nap. He feels lethargic, his clothes are uncomfortable and dirtied, and his mind not so different from it.

His eyes wander around his room until they stop at a clock. His mind still absent as he spots where the clock's short arm lies. There's no urgency in him, and for good reasons. There's zero classes this late in the afternoon, unless…

The wizard's eyes was previously narrow and tired. Now they widen steadily till they bulge.

"Shit!" the boy curses. He nearly falls off his bed as he scrambles off his bed.

He couldn't remember the last time he ran in the hallway. He's never been so clumsy to be late. When he opens the door to the classroom, it's already abandoned save for one person.

The person was Professor Ursula. She looks surprised. She wasn't expecting company this late.

At a teacher's presence, the boy suddenly becomes conscious of himself. He schools his posture and fixes his clothes—he didn't have much time to fix them when he changed into them quickly.

"Am I… am I late?" he asks, his voice hoarse.

Professor Ursula's brows knot to a frown. "Extra… class? Extra class…" her eyes then widen. "Oh! You actually wanted to join?"

His voice drops. "You didn't— you didn't wait for me?"

"We weren't exactly waiting for you, so I suppose the fault's not all yours!" She strokes her chin with a finger. "Then again, you didn't exactly told Akko you wanted to join when she invited you, that's why we didn't expect you at all".

"I didn't see any reason to give a heads up, because being late wasn't part of my plan…" the boy trails off. He then shakes his head. "Sorry, this is totally my fault, miss".

"Don't worry, it's not like you're going to be punished for not attending this class". A slight smile tugs at the edge of the professor's lips. "There's still next week's". The professor rests her hands on her hips. "In any case, the extra class is already over. Akko finished practicing almost five minutes ago". She taps a cardboard box sitting on the teacher's desk, filled with all sorts of items. "She's on her way returning a few of the things we used to the storage room".

The professor was about to pick one up, but the wizard steps in and helps take one of the boxes. "At least let me help you bring this", he says. He has to put an effort not to huff under the unexpected weight. "Where are we going?"

"The storage room, one floor up. Thank you", she replies. One of the boy's eyes twitches. A flight of stairs made him regret being nice. There's no going back now. "Akko already went there with one. She's supposed to come back and lend me another hand. I wonder what's keeping her so long".

"There's no reason I shouldn't help", he replies. His attempt at a nonchalant shrug falls short; in no way does it seem like he's doing this out of impulse.

On second thought, the fact that the boxes weight like an elephant also makes it hard to make a smooth shrug.

In any case, outside of simple politeness, his reason for helping is genuine gratitude. Although he missed her help at extra class entirely today, the thought still counts to him that the professor is willing to offer help to students in need like him and Akko.

And also, there's a dash of a less obvious motive mixed in there.

He wants to further discuss his problem with his dreams.

It's... getting old, yes. Even the wizard is aware of this.

As they walk to find the stairs, the wizard keeps stealing glances at the professor, thinking of ways to naturally start and steer a conversation to one about his dreams.

However, his true challenge at being upfront is how bad the wizard feels. The last time he'd brought this problem she'd given him a good advice, one he's followed through so far: to pass them as nothing more but nightmares, and to only think otherwise if there's any good evidence to or if he feels genuinely troubled by them. But doing what he does best: overthinking things, the wizard keep forcing himself to read between the lines; he keeps telling himself it's the professor's polite way of telling him he's jumping at shadows and that he should cease being such a scaredy cat.

All this quiet thinking got his mind absent. So absent, his legs thought it would be funny to climb one extra step by the end of the stairs.

The wizard gasps as he loses balance, the box he carries teetering threatening to fall. A simple misstep nearly turns to an accident when he's balancing such a weight on his hands.

It was an honest mistake on his part, not the box despite its weight, and he can definitely carry on. But the professor misunderstood what happened, and thought he needed some help.

"Here, let me help". Before he could protest, the professor took a few weight off from his box and stacks it on hers.

And then, she continues to climb the next staircase like nothing happened. The wizard looks at her back like she just grown a second head.

"Are you sure, professor? They're pretty heavy!" the boy asks as he catches up to her. He doesn't mind admitting this if it gets him an answer. His brows tighten together. "Aren't you tired?"

It's been a long day for any teacher after all, it being a school day.

"I'm fine". She turns to him. "Don't worry about me", the professor answers with a strong smile. He can't see it being forced in any way.

The wizard tries to read her through some subtle sidelong glances, but he can't find any sign of fatigue or some gesture that would indicate she's lying.

This leaves him very dumbfounded, and for good reasons.

Today's a school day, and just earlier she's taught Akko in an extra class, that must make for a tiring day. Yet here she is, carrying the boxes like a champ, not a strain to her muscles or her fine womanly features.

At first glance, the professor seems to be the type of person who wouldn't survive a hectic day at work or a journey from one end of the school to another, but behind her nervous shell and clumsy demeanor, there's this unexpected energetic and tireless side of her.

 _Maybe it's just because she's young_ , the boy thought silently. His hand would've moved to stroke his chin if it wasn't occupied. _Wait, how old is she? Is it rude to ask that? Wait, is it even okay to talk about a woman's physical strength? It sounds rude!_

Then the wizard pauses completely and shakes his head.

 _No, no, no. damn, I got distracted. Dreams! That's what I wanted to talk. Got to go back, back in track._

The wizard bites his lip.

 _Ok, go or no go? I should at least try to bring the topic up subtly… no, I don't have any idea how!_

If internal thoughts are made audible, the wizard would already be a circus at this point. Not the clown, but the whole circus.

They arrive at the storage room before the wizard could settle in any meaningful decision. It's starting to get dark outside. The door's wide open, its light spills into the scarcely lit hallway. Teacher and student share amused looks when they enter and see a distressed Akko searching around the room.

Somewhere along the way, the resident troublemaker finally realizes she's not alone in the room. The professor's presence doesn't stop her from dancing around the room, though.

"Professor! I'm so sorry, I was about to go back and help but I think I dropped my…"

His presence does, though.

Akko's words trail off once she sees the third person in the room. Distress gives way to surprise. In one swift second the worry left her system entirely.

"Hey! Where have you been?" Akko's voice is loud, as always.

The wizard tenses at being the center of attention so suddenly. His posture sinks as he tries to shrink himself out of the sudden attention.

"I-I overnapped", he stammers out. His eyes uncomfortably dart elsewhere as Akko nears him, her face close in front of his.

Her nose wrinkles as she scrutinizes his features for any lies. Her hand moves to her chin to stroke it, a rare thoughtful gesture from her. "Are you sure you're not just evading the class?" She folds her arms and purses her lips. "Just say you don't want to join if you're not planning to".

Akko immediately stops when the wizard suddenly glowers at her.

"I do want to join the class. I just overnapped", he hisses through gritted teeth, a very heavy emphasize near the end that turns to a low growl.

Akko smiles shakily as the table suddenly turned on her. Her posture shrinks under the wizard's unrelenting glare. She didn't know she'd mastered size-changing magic, because it sure feels like she's suddenly mouse-sized, cowering under the shadow the wizard's casting over her.

He simply doesn't want the professor to get any funny ideas, like that he's lying about being late and is actually not appreciative of the help the professor's willing to give.

"Oh. Oh ok". Akko's eyes dart elsewhere for a second, distractedly. Then, her eyes slowly widen and she cocks her head to the side. "Wait, so that mean you told the truth back then when I invited you: you actually want to join our extra classes?"

The wizard scoffs sharply. He walks past her with the box in hand. "Yes, is it _that_ hard to belief?"

The wizard turns to the professor to find out her opinion. He's surprised to find her smiling, and he can tell it was directed at him and Akko for some reason.

Realizing she's noticed, the professor quickly disarms her smile. "What? Oh yes, yes! It was hard to belief", the professor waves her hand about as she chuckles nervously. Then her eyes begin to widen slowly. "I mean, it wasn't. It wasn't hard to belief… What?"

She's lost. Completely lost.

The wizard sighs loudly and decides to finally do his job with the box. " _That_ hard, huh?" he grumbles.

Akko's puzzled eyes follow him as he goes. "Well, yeah. I mean, you didn't look too happy when I talked to you about us being… you know? And you definitely wasn't happier when I started inviting you". Her words trail off. Then her frown starts to slowly turn upside down. "Ah, what the heck, who cares? This is good news! I'm not going to do this alone from now on!" The boy snorts at that.

Now outside of the two's attention again, the professor resumes her smile. In truth, she'd been watching and listening to their interaction since the beginning with interest.

It was only a few days ago that news reached Akko's ears that the wizard shares a similar background as hers, and it's been an uproar for her. From what Ursula knew, Akko spent the next good portion of her days pestering him to join the extra classes. For whatever reason, he was reluctant back then.

This is good news both for Akko and the professor. She'd been worried for Akko since her first day of enrollment. The girl, if the professor was being completely honest, is alone and without a clue. And despite all the help the professor gave and will continue giving her, they're still teacher and student; there's some barrier as to how close they could help each other. But now Ursula can start to rest easy, knowing there's someone that's just like Akko. Someone that will make her not do this alone.

Ursula knows well that Akko is surrounded by caring and good friends, but she knows that sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes, despite how many friends she has, she'll still feel alone. Sometimes you need someone—just one is enough—that's just like you to no longer feel alone.

Now they may be rusty…

The professor's smile turns to a wry one as she watches the clearly displeased wizard be barraged by Akko with all sorts of questions, while she doesn't help at all with the weighty box.

…and they don't go along too swimmingly, but she firmly believes that will be solved as time goes on. Things will eventually be much easier for the two, and for herself, when they work together.

So, once she's done her part, the professor says her goodbye briefly and leaves the youths to themselves, not wanting to interrupt anything important.

Unbeknownst to the professor, her early leave disappointed the wizard greatly.

 _Maybe tomorrow,_ the wizard thought woefully.

He has no one to blame but his own indecisiveness.

Then the wizard pauses when he notices Akko has stopped with her questions. He turns to find that she has resumed what she was doing when he arrived.

"What _are_ you searching for?" he asks, an annoyed edge to his voice.

"Something personal!" the witch grunts as she stands on her toes to barely reach a shelf. "It's one of my Chariot cards. I brought it with me and I think I dropped it around here". The witch turns to him. "Have you seen it? You can't miss it!"

"Apparently you did", the boy comments dryly before he turns his gaze to the open door once gain. He bites his lip to suppress a sigh. Finally, he turns and walks up beside Akko.

"Fine, I'll help you find it", he grumbles as he rolls up his sleeves.

It only takes two minutes of searching for him to finally find the troublemaker, stuck in a crevice between two tall shelves. The girl promptly bows to him repeatedly. He was impressed; he'd never expected to be at the receiving end of an authentic Japanese bow by an authentic Japanese person. This moment is slightly monumental for him.

After thanking him for the 20th time, bilingually in English and Japanese, the girl suddenly flips open a book. Feeling his questioning stare, the girl sheepishly scratches the back of her head.

"Don't judge me. Chariot cards make perfect bookmarks!" she whines.

"They'll just distract you from your reading, I bet", the boy comments wryly as he hands her the card.

Akko was about to say her 21st thank you, but she stops when she found her card stuck. Even when Akko tugs gently, the card remains stuck between the boy's fingers.

She looks up to find the wizard's eyes fixed at the card, not once he blinks.

She did the mistake of trying to pull harder.

A frown quickly crosses Akko's face when she receives no response at all, one that easily turns to an upset scowl.

"Hey, you're going to tear it!" she cries, voice cracking near the end.

He jolts like he's been asleep all this time and his grip ceases abruptly. The wizard blinks hard and long as he stares at Akko, slowly taking in her upset look.

Akko's eyes narrow as she inspects her card. She repeatedly feel it with her fingers, trying to find any stretch or tear due to the stress it just went through.

Now realizing what he's done, the boy smirks awkwardly. It only makes his adversary more suspicious of him.

"S-sorry", he hastily says. " _I_ got distracted, apparently", he chuckles nervously, more as to add effect than him finding his joke funny at all.

Akko replies with a scowl. Her cheeks are puffed—it does nothing to make her seem threatening. Her posture is still tense as well, the card held closely to her chest, prepared to fight or flight should the boy chooses to escalate the conflict.

Despite himself, the boy nearly snickers at how ridiculous the situation they're in.

"It's not for sale, mister. Not in a million years", Akko warns.

At that, the boy scoffs and rolls his eyes. "Like hell anyone would be interested enough to buy those kid's cards".

Akko's brows tighten on her quickly reddening face. She says no words. Her expression alone is loud enough as he looks at him like he just denied the Witch Hunt ever happened.

"I'm joking, joking!" the boy quickly says. "Peace?"

"Only if you don't hurt my Chariot cards in the future", Akko says indignantly as she folds her arms. She then slips her card into her book, swiftly in case the boy still wants to do some funny business.

The corner of his eyes twitch, unseen by Akko.

Despite what he said about the card's value, his eyes follow it intently, as if this is the last time he'll ever get to see it. The world slows to a crawl for him, as bizarre as it sounds, as he focuses as best he can on the illustration: a pale blue moon, up until the point the card's finally swallowed entirely by the pages. The moment the card's out of sight, he finally blinks and breathes, as if a great weight had just been removed from his mind.

He also just barely managed to read the card's name.

"Blue moon", he repeats what he read. His voice and face neutral.

"Blue moon abyss", the girl corrects him. "It's like a… cave, like a hidden cave". She looks at him carefully, as if sizing up if he's now safe or not. Her previous hostility is mostly gone now, replaced now in her features is a thoughtful, but still careful look. "If you're really interested in my cards, you can just say it you know? No need to steal some looks like that"

Akko then mutters more quietly, "Seems like a trend with you; not being upfront. Really makes you hard to read, you know?"

"That so?" the boy blinks. He's honestly surprised to hear this mini-sized lecture from Akko, and impressed that she's spot on. He shoves his hands to his pocket and shrugs. "I could say the exact opposite about you".

The two chooses not to talk about this weird incident for the rest of their journey back to their respective rooms. Akko tries not to think much of what happened. This is evident as she dominates the conversation and steering it towards mostly mundane subjects like nothing happened. Unlike her however, Jericho's mind is still on the card. As Akko blabbers on, he reaches deeply into his memories, trying to figure out just what made that picture of a moon in the card feel so hauntingly familiar.

That haunting blue colour... and the mysterious pale light it shines…

Then the wizard's eyes widen slowly. His gait slows till he stops completely.

He'd 'seen' this moon before.

Akko notices the wizard no longer walks beside her so she stops as well. She turns to see his mouth parting and closing, trying to finally break the silence he's been in since they walked together.

"Akko, did you said cave, earlier?" he asks.

Akko blinks repeatedly. "No". She frowns. "I said it was a bakery me, Lotte and Sucy went to. Were you even listening?"

The boy pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. "No, no, no, not your story. But back when you mentioned something about the card. You mentioned a cave?"

Akko begins to nod slowly, uncertainly. "Yeeeaah, yeah. I said cave, because that's what the blue moon abyss is".

His eyes widen. "Like, natural cave? Not man-made cave?" he asks too eagerly. This is starting to confuse Akko.

"I guess that's what a cave means. So yes?"

This is starting to freak him out.

For a moment he doesn't say a thing. His hand is instinctively already over his mouth, covering his pursing lips, a finger repeatedly tapping his chin.

Akko meanwhile is still in the dark, no idea what this conversation is even for.

Then the boy joins his hands together. He gives her the impression of a very shady car dealer. "Akko, I just need to look at your card a little—"

"Nooo", Akko whines immediately, having seen this coming a mile away. She clings to her book tightly and uses her body to shield it from him. "You can just ask me instead. My memory is fool-proof!"

Exclusively on Chariot-related facts, that is.

The wizard rocks back on his heels, disappointed and anxious is his face. His eyes drop for a moment as he sighs.

"Fine". He lifts his eyes to meet hers. "Then just tell me: what the heck's a blue moon abyss?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: it takes time to get used to the new POV. It takes more time trying to find the best fitting style for the narrations. It's still a learning experience for me, so if you found anything worth pointing out, don't feel bad to do it. I don't bite—I nibble.**

 **Next chapter will come when it's ready.**


	28. Chapter 28

Jericho flips the card to see both sides, trying to find as much information as he can from what little is typed and illustrated on the card. It's terribly intricately designed for a kid's collectible card game.

Akko meanwhile remains close, afraid to stray too far away from him. She rocks back and forth on her heels restlessly, and her eyes warily dart between the boy and her precious card he's holding.

They had been thrust into an awkward silence, him certain it's due to the girl's distrust of him. He did manage to convince her to hand him the card again, but it seems that he needs to put more work to actually put her at ease.

He needs to at least distract her from being worried.

Breaking the ice is never something he's good at. But Akko is predictable enough that someone as socially clueless as him can know what to say to get her gears going.

"So you collect these, Akko?" he asks.

Akko stops rocking on her heels. She blinks. "Yeah", she says, and a smile begins to tug the edge of her lips. "Like, you have no idea".

Akko proceeds to tell him a story she always love to tell. It was slow at first, her being hesitant, but now she's closing into nostalgia mode and have begun filling him in on every detail of her card hunting childhood. Her eyes no longer dart away, instead they comfortably wander as she reminisce her childhood.

His plan was to distract Akko and instantly not listen to whatever rant she's got and use the valuable time to read the card in concentration, but this is easier said than done. Akko is loud. She also has a knack in taking your attention. He'd opened up a dam he could not close. He could only listen.

' _Akko is very passionate about this',_ he just realized. Then, unseen by Akko, his temple creases as a sinking feeling of realization begins to build up inside him.

He's indeed successfully distracted Akko into a nostalgia trip, but he's also successful in giving her the wrong idea. Now she's going to think he's interested in Chariot and or her cards, while in truth it's just one. He doesn't have the heart—after seeing the smile that's always present as she tells her story—to tell her the truth.

But it doesn't matter now. It shouldn't matter. This he could handle sometime later. He prays he'll find a way to let her down easy later or in the future, or that he'll eventually like Chariot enough so there would be no need for letting downs.

Jericho Franklin Jr., suffering from success.

In any case, not all of what Akko said is straying too far from his current agenda. While most of what she's saying is the most useless and mundane details on her card-hunting childhood, sometimes she spit some helpful and related information.

Akko's now beside him, their shoulders rub, as Akko points at the card. "See? It says there's a hidden cave sitting right under this school's chapel"

The boy's eyes narrow as he brings the card closer. "Yes… that's a bloody hard read".

"And get this, every blue moon, a ghost appears somewhere deep within there".

He stares at her. "Ghost? Like, ghost, ghost? There's ghosts in this school?"

Akko parts away and quickly holds her hands up. "No, no. Not that kind of creepy ghosts". Her hands moves all over the place to illustrate her point. "This is a different kind of ghost. It's temperamental, yeah, but it's also a wise and knowledgeable ghost, a Christmas Carol kind of ghost".

He frowns. "You're kidding? Christmas Carol ghosts are terrifying!" Regardless, he returns his eyes to the card and shuts up.

Akko follows suit, returning beside him to look as well. "Yes, so, Christmas Carol ghost appears in the cave. Apparently, if it likes you it will answer all sorts of questions", Akko recites diligently. A smug and eager smile begins to show in her. She starts to move her hands to emphasize her point again. "It's wise and knows about a lot of stuff. It's said that it's knowledge of past, present, and future".

"I-I see". He doesn't. He can't visualize such a wild claim.

Nonetheless, so far there's so many similarities between what Akko said and what he got from his dreams: the chapel, the cave underneath it, the blue moon, and now, he's sort of sure, he did remember seeing a ghastly face near the end of his dream, before waking up to cold sweat.

So what does this all mean, then? The wizard is made aware long ago that he doesn't have any God-given talent or hidden gift when it comes to magic unlike those heroes he always read in books—a fact that he has to deal with bitterly. But suddenly he begins to dream of things he shouldn't possibly know. Is this truly the work of some unknown clairvoyant magic, a hidden talent inside him, or could this just be a freaky case of coincidence? Though he can't give an answer, his heart leans heavily on being rational thus the latter. Plus it would halt any potential for disappointments.

But there's a good chance that he could be wrong. Akko's claim on the ghost's abilities sounds like a far stretch and fictitious, an exaggeration, but he remembers how so many things about magic didn't make sense back when he started taking wizardry. Can that still be said now? Does it apply the same to this odd dreams he's having? Is this after all an encounter with some unknown bizarre magic that's actually relatively normal to those who knows about magic better than him? Does this mean it's possible that he's gifted with some awesome magic but one that he's not aware of?

All of this makes his head spin. He can't come up with anything smart or conclusive. He needs more time and effort.

He needs to do something. A first step. He can try by first making sure if his dreams are really special or not. He can do this by testing its accuracy.

' _I should investigate this chapel, then. If it's in this school, then what's the harm of looking into it myself?'_

His first step is set. The idea of now finally having a direction—after all this confusion—somewhat comforts him. His hypothesis: that he's gifted with clairvoyance.

In one swift motion, the boy whips out a pen. This is not repeated however when he tries to reach into another pocket for his notebook. He turns and whirls around trying to find just the right pocket. Akko had to step back to give space.

Akko tilts her head once his items come together. He gives her a shrug. "Let's be real, you're not going to lend me the card".

He begin writing every detail about the card and what he's heard so far. Then he pauses and taps his pen to his chin. "You know, Akko, you're also saying a lot of things that's not written in the card". This was his way of saying: 'you sound like a 4000 word essay that's missing the references'.

Then, the smuggest smile comes to Akko. She rests her hands on her hips and sticks her nose up. "Actually, everything I know about this is from the researches I did when I was little all by myself. One of them may or may not be one of those Chariot limited edition magazines I had when I was little".

The boy internally sighs. He half-heartedly writes her references in the reference table he recently made.

"In any case, even Chariot cards are good enough sources on their own", she adds. This immediately made the boy stop writing and look at her with a scoff. That scoff falls short when he's met with Akko's determined doubtless eyes.

He blinks, then it dawns on him. He waves his pencil around then points it accusingly at her. "The papiliodiya was one time. That's not enough to make it credible".

"You're just in denial", Akko laughs. "You'll see for yourself eventually. You'll see how this blue moon card is also accurate!" she smiles challengingly. The wizard can tell she's fully sure she's correct.

The boy snorts at that and returns to his writing. To her it might seem he just dismissed the challenge, but in truth, he does give it some though.

He puts the last dot with his pen. The pen doesn't leave the paper as he mulls over his thoughts. The ink begins to seep too much into the paper it threatens to make the dot more than a dot.

He turns to Akko. "The chapel. That's in the first floor, is it not?"

"I think I know the way there", she replies as she scratches the side of her head. "You're planning to go there? Want me to show the way?"

The boy hums. He then shakes his head. "You know what? I think I actually know the way". He closes his notebook and pockets it. After so long delay, the wizard finally resumes his walk with Akko following closely beside. He says, "I think I can find it myself. And I won't do it tonight". He looks towards the thick clouds haunting the night sky outside. "Not a great time for going outside".

"Oh, that's fine then", Akko says. She's that stupid smile again growing on her face. "Anyway, there's plenty more cards like these you know? I don't have them on me right now, but I can show you later".

The boy was so close to scoff and dismiss her offer. He has to suppress his instinct and roll with the girl for now and feed Akko's image of him being interested in her interests.

The wizard may not like most people he knows nor does he actively try to make others like him, but he's made it a constant personal goal to not make anyone dislike him.

Confrontation is bad, it's messy. He's not the type of person who triumphs in confrontations. He doesn't need to stop disliking people, but he just needs to look like he likes people enough to avoid any kind of trouble.

Now Akko's starting to see him in a good light. It would be stupid to throw this opportunity away and make her dislike him again.

So once again, he puts a brake on his character by initiating something. "What about that idol person of yours, Chariot?" He says the name slightly quieter, as if afraid that he's gotten the name wrong.

It took only a second for Akko's lips to start turning into a wide smile. The wizard used all his might to not frown and dryly add: 'I'm just asking, it's not like I'm interested'. Instead, he presses on. "I've always heard about how much you like her, but you never really explained who she is".

"Ah, that". Akko giggles giddily, already excited at the coming topic. "You're right. And I did always say 'Shiny Chariot is too popular for anyone not to recognize'".

Akko taps her chin with a finger. "Well, where should I even begin?" Akko goes on to tell another story she always loved to tell, even when no one even asks her to. She tells him everything, no mercy: Chariot herself, Akko's first time ever laying eyes on her, the first of her show Akko went to, and other more mundane details that the girl nonetheless still holds great memory and passion to. It was… endearing, in some way, to his surprise.

"She went to this school, you know?" Akko says at one point. Again, he had to resist a snide like 'you said that a million times to a million people already'.

Akko then looks to her feet, her voice quieting slightly. "That's why I went to this school in the first place: following her footsteps".

Akko drifts to silence as a distant smile takes her face. The boy glanced sidelong, taking in the girl's rare quiet face for a good few seconds. That's when he realizes something. Spoken like this—slowly, quietly and with a soft smile instead of her usual annoying grin—makes him rethink about Akko and her unusual obsession. Usually, these kinds of thing Akko says with proud gusto or in excitement, and it gives off the impression that she was merely hyped for this idol of hers. A phase or trend—a love that'll only last a few months at best. But now, spoken like this with thought and calmness really drives home the point that this _is_ Akko's deepest feelings. Her love for Chariot isn't some trend or phase that she'll get over in time, it's an affection that she's held on for so many years of her childhood and will continue in the future. She's held on to this idol of hers to motivate her through her days, and Akko's boundless energy and motivation is a testament that _that_ worked.

Despite still seeing idolizing a glorified magician as odd and stupid, he's at least starting to recognize how important this Chariot person is to Akko. That must count for something, right?

What he also just realized is his current position—he's now got himself in a type of conversation he's terrible at.

' _This is bad. This is really bad'_ the wizard thought frantically. _'She's advancing too fast! Talking about genuine feelings and love are you kidding? I'm not ready for this kind of talk yet—we barely know each other—and it usually means I'll have to tell a similar story in kind!_

A bead of sweat travels down the nape of his neck as his mind scrambles for a response. The silence is starting to last too long, and it's certainly his turn to talk and make a serious reply to Akko's heartfelt story.

"I…" His dark eyes keep darting back and forth between Akko and anything else. "That's really… that was a really cool story, Akko", he says, flatly.

Akko's distant smile suddenly disappears as her lips thin and her brows furrow disappointedly. She says, "Damn, was my story really that bad?"

The boy stops and shakes his head quickly. "N-no, no, no! I really mean it! I just don't know what to say and— sorry for the generic response! I know it sounds sarcastic but I really found your story cool but… I've just zero idea how to respond!"

"Oh", she says lightly, her frown somewhat disappearing.

"Yeah". The boy warily nods. "I'm just that bad at sounding genuine, do I?"

"It's really hard to tell". Akko nods and shrugs.

The boy blinks nervously. He scratches his chin. "So, anyway, moving onwards". He walks again and looks ahead, away from Akko. "I think your story's not uncool. I think it's cool that you have something concrete and real you can look up to. I don't have any". He chuckles forcibly. It was a cheap and shady kind of chuckle you'd find with a faded expiry date. "And uh… I think having one could really shape us differently from the others, huh? " If all else fails, compliment. "Now that I think about it, you resemble good points of Chariot".

Akko perks up. "Really? Thanks".

"You're welcome".

And then, nothing. Both boy and girl went silent, the former with no clue how to follow up.

That was the lamest compliment and reaction ever.

Then, Akko stops walking. Something seems to have just registered to her, and she now looks at him with a shocked face. "Wait, you don't have someone you idolize?" then, as if already knowing his answer, Akko's face drops. She looks at him as if he just told her his family never celebrated his birthday.

Not that he'd know.

He stops as well. "Oh, stop dramatizing it". He forces a chuckle. "It's pleasant and cool, but having an idol isn't obligatory".

"Come on! Anyone?" Akko leans forward. "What a sad existence if you don't!"

"Sad existence—" The boy wheezes. But one good look at Akko made the boy flinch, his humour suddenly out the window. He's unprepared to meet Akko's genuinely sad and pitying look, alongside her leaning very close to him. The boy's eyes immediately wander to the side the same time he leans back away. He looks at her at the last moment. "I sort of think Noel Gallagher's pretty cool".

Akko's eyes immediately light up. Her worry seemed like a physical illness, and she's just cured from it. "Oh! Is he a famous wizard? Honestly I don't really follow wizards".

The boy blinks. "Yeaaah, he's a wizard". One finger scratches his cheek. "…in working the guitar".

Akko sighs. Her excitement is killed, murdered. "Oh, you're just talking about music now".

He shoves his hands into his pockets and start to walk again. He grumbles, "Well, you asked for some idol, and there you go".

Nonetheless his answer seems to be much better than nothing at all. This the wizard can tell by the growing appreciative beam Akko has. She catches up to him and says, "But hey, I didn't know much about you as well. I didn't know you like music".

This is true: he rarely ever talks about himself even among his closer friends, always preferring to make himself invisible by not standing out too much with colourful and noticeable hobbies.

"Who doesn't?" He shrugs. "But I guess you're not wrong to think that. I didn't bring my collection to school for obvious reasons. They're mostly tapes as well—it's hard to find digital things back when I came from—which brings more reason not to pack it in a tight baggage. And even if I did, it'll be difficult playing them without some technology here". A finger scratches his nose. "Although, Conz had been offering to help me with that should I ever have my tapes smuggled here". He can't hide the smile as he said that.

Akko nods understandingly. "Oh that sucks. And I get you; it's hard for me to adjust to the lifestyle here as well". Then, she frowns. "But hey, I mean, we're sort of the same at that". His heart always moves weirdly when he hears her say that, which unfortunately is quite often lately. "We both like something not respectable by witches".

"Oh crumbs. Akko, you've no idea how much tapes I have to give up", the boy chuckles giddily—for once he doesn't mind showing what he feels. He says, "To the point I stop bringing it with me to witch-heavy locations entirely. Quite a shame, I could've impressed some old cats with my collection. In fact without having them around, I doubt I can find someone who shares the same interest. I can't just ask anyone I meet if they share the same hobby as I when I'm surrounded by traditional witches, see?"

"You'd get in trouble", Akko nods understandingly. But then her walk slows, until she stops completely. The boy stops and turns to her. There's a new look in her eyes, without that childish excitement that's present just seconds ago. She asks. "Ever got in trouble because of it? Ever have people dislike you because… I don't know, just liking your hobby?" Akko dresses her question like its nothing but casual curiosity, but he could tell her curiosity is serious.

The boy slows to a stop hesitantly. "No", he answers with a short shake of his head. His smile disappears quietly. "I suppose I'm lucky on that part". He's starting to see where this is going, and again, he doesn't like it.

Akko looks away. He can't read her face if she keeps doing this. "Because, the thing is…. well, someone like Chariot… not having anyone interested in her is bad enough, but having her hated is just terrible sometimes".

' _Sometimes I hate being right'_ he sighs internally. "Yes, Hannah and Barbara could go overboard with their teasing", he eventually says. He scratches the back of his head and shrugs. "I mean, I'm their freshest victim".

Akko looks at him. "Diana as well".

"Diana isn't that bad". His reply was quick and backed with certainty. He's sure Diana didn't see him negatively after he told her he's a first-gen wizard.

Or did she? How was he so sure Diana didn't find him as ridiculous as Hannah and Barbara does?

' _No, don't think like that'_ , the boy tells himself. _'What do you gain from thinking like that?'_

"She is, don't kid yourself", Akko grumbles. As she turns away from him again, she puffs her cheeks and furrows her brows. "I don't like how they always looks down on me. Especially Diana. She got everything, and I have nothing just starting out—a blank slate. But she doesn't need to be so arrogant about it, always acting like she knows everything and better than everyone. Like, what gives?"

' _I mean, she probably does know about everything and is better than most of the people around, especially you and me',_ he thought, but do not dare say. In truth, he doesn't need the fear of Akko's backlash to stop saying what's on his mind.

Jericho disagrees with her, but that's not what he'll say. He must set aside his urge to be clever and correcting here, because that's not what Akko needs to hear right now. Akko needs a serious and thoughtful answer—she needs help. He understands how she feels, and he would be pissed if he's in her shoes and the person he's talking to doesn't take his feelings seriously and help. And for once the wizard knows what's needed to be said. Perhaps it's because he's been in her shoes more than once.

"I get what you're saying". He says after his pause. This surprised Akko. She did not expect someone to understand so quickly. Perhaps she's forgotten who she's talking to.

Suddenly, any semblance of humour is gone from him. The wizard's eyes drift elsewhere. His voice is low and peppered with delays. "It is… frustrating, at times, to compare yourself to someone better than you".

After all, no one would know better than him.

Then he looks at Akko straight in her eyes. "But don't do that. Don't compare yourself to her. You won't get anywhere being preoccupied and bitter on the people around you. I know it's hard, but you have to focus on yourself and yourself only". His voice was unusually level. The wizard seemed so… mature, so suddenly, to Akko's great surprise. For once he seems like he knows what he needed to say.

This would be no surprise if Akko knew this isn't the wizard's own words, but one he'd heard repeated to him so many times in the past. But if she caught the bitter grimace at the edge of his lips, Akko would've realized that the wizard doesn't follow what he's preaching himself.

Akko kept blinking. She stayed silent for long, trying to truly think of what she heard. Slowly, she begins to part her mouth and speak. "I… You're right. You're right!" Akko nods repeatedly. It was slow at first, but her expression begins to harden; her trademark confidence slowly returning to her. "You're right", she says again.

The wizard breathes in and out, relieved of the reaction he received. He's surprised how nice it felt saying that to someone else instead of hearing it. He wonders how helpful the words he just spoken, and if she'll remember what he said in the future. He could only pray the girl could follow the advice more faithfully than himself and find it helpful.

"That's a really nice thing to say", Akko says again as she smiles.

He resumes walking, putting his back towards Akko so it'll be impossible for her to see his face. "I meant everything I said". His hand brushes his mouth before he consciously put it down. Akko's smile widens and she catches up to him.

* * *

The day after tomorrow he goes to find the chapel alone. It was easier than he anticipated. It's not because it's easily accessible or anything. In fact the chapel sits outside the school's building, under the base of the New Moon Tower, and finding that place is tricky on itself. But he easily found the way there because, somehow, he just _knew_ which ways to take. Despite never been there before or even heard of the place till yesterday, the boy follows the school's maze-like hallways and spiralling staircase and out to the forest pathway without a single pause or doubt. His feet would take him to a turn before he could think, and then he just knew it was the right turn. It's because this hallways and paths are _very_ familiar so suddenly.

The tower's heavy wooden doors groan and creak in protest as he pushes them open, uncomfortable in his ears. Light spills into the room inside in rays, revealing a good amount of dust. He can tell this place isn't used often. The wizard doesn't immediately continue through open doors. His body felt anchored in place. His eyes anxiously dart around the room as he takes in the details of the room.

Thick square pillars jut from the ground to support the ceiling. The room's only light comes from three tall yet narrow windows that lets the daytime sun outside shine through, and the open door. There's a statue of three women. They're beautiful to behold during a sunny day like this. They stand at the corner of the room with their unblinking eyes, like silent guardians watching over the room long after their own times.

It felt surreal to him, unsettling even, when he's struck with déjà vu seeing a place he's never been to before. The statue, the stone tables in front of it, the scratches on the pillars and the even cobblestones… they're all so familiar to him—so similar to the one in his dreams.

There are only two notable differences which also brings him comfort: one is the daytime sun, lighting the room in warm and comforting light. Otherwise, this room would've gave him enough creeps to make him stay away. He thinks of this and shudders as his eyes shift to the menacing statues in the middle, one that he realizes would transform into haunting figures in the night. And second is that this place is not abandoned. The room is quiet with only a handful around, and they're all fairies and goblins, but that's more than enough. They give him a curious but polite looks, some even tips their hats before going back to their works.

The wizard stops in front of the statues. He takes a deep breath in. He'd planned and thought so much about this room and what he's about to do when he does find it, but now being here, he's lost track of everything.

' _So, to check: my dreams are accurate. This is unnerving. I've no idea how to feel about this'._

His hand nervously moves to his breast pocket. It stays hovering there, tempted to read the notes he's made in his book. But he brings his hand down when he hears light footsteps coming his way. He lifts his eyes to find one of the goblins coming up to him.

"Need something, kid?" asks the goblin. The white streaks on his thin beard and slightly grave voice tells him he's older than most goblins he knows.

"No". He hesitates. "What makes you ask that?"

"Because no one ever comes here". The goblin shrugs. "This place isn't often used these days. A miracle the headmistress hasn't renovated it or closed it off completely".

"That so?" the boy's eyes drift to the middle of the room. "Maybe its just too valuable". The goblin's brows arch. Jericho turns to the goblin again. "You know, I heard this funny piece of info that there's a—"

"Secret cave?" the goblin completes his sentence. The boy looks at him in surprise. The goblin shakes his head disapprovingly. "Yeah, yeah. I heard that one too, kid", the goblin says. "Take my word on it, worked here more than your age and I can tell you this room's just a room. Don't be like those LNN kids trying to find it".

His shoulders sag slightly, unnoticed by the goblin. "Oh". He pauses, and then his eyes widen. "Wait, LNN? They know about this secret cave?"

"Non-existent secret cave", the goblin corrects him. He crosses his arms and nods his head irritably. "Yeah they do know about it! They're always crazy following any bit of rumours about some secrets of the school. They're impressive I'll give them that, but their energy's wasted on the wrong thing! Troublemakers the lot of them". The wizard blinks in surprise at the outburst. But then the goblin scratches his chin and looks to the ground. After a breath in, his expression calms. "Though I suppose they do that because those kind of things sells. The market decides, I suppose".

The boy masks a growing grimace. It was hard hiding his guilty face. He still have inquiries for the goblin, but now it's wiser to look innocent with it.

"And… I imagine they didn't succeed in finding anything here?" he asks, trying to sound as innocent as possible. The goblin nods. Jericho continues, "Maybe they just didn't know where to find it? Maybe they don't know what they're doing".

The goblin shrugs. "I guess so? This place is built ages ago, so I don't blame anyone if they can't figure out this place. I don't think any person still alive in this school really knows about all the secrets this school has. The school's old, kid, really old, and the little who knows the secrets sometimes keeps it at so. Probably because they're dangerous secrets". The goblin winks at him. "Like a fledgling dragon in the labyrinth".

The boy visibly shudders. That was not a good memory of the start of the school. The goblin barks a laughter at his reaction.

"Or who knows, maybe they already know the secret but they intentionally stall their search in order to print more papers. Build up to the climax to build up the profits", the goblin chortles. He turns and shoves his hand on his pockets and walks away.

The wizard's eyes stick to the goblin's back. Then, he furrows his brows. "You're reading too much into this". The goblin barks out a laugh.

' _Dangerous_ _, forbidden_ _secrets_ _'_. Now this brings him back on track. The boy lifts his gaze towards the stone cold statues.

' _I wanted to consult with Professor Ursula about this new discovieries I've made, and about what I'm going to do... but what if it backfires? What if she tells me to stop because this secret under this chapel is dangerous or_ _something_ _forbidden?_ _No, t_ _he better question is, am I going to stop because it is a dangerous secret?_

' _Mustn't think so negatively. Don't let the goblin's words get into your head, Franklin. He knows nothing, while you know something not everyone else does: you know this_ _secret—this_ _hidden cave_ _—e_ _xists_ _, and where!'_

This thought gives him strength. The goblin just unintentionally confirmed that he knows more than most person should. Somehow the goblin's friendly warnings actually made the boy dangerously confident.

' _Yes, I_ _sound_ _irrational and contradicting: did I not insist on being rational with my dreams?_ _To not jump to conclusions like that this is the work of some divinity magic?_ _But I've grown_ _more_ _unsure,_ _more superstitious_ _—_ _more believing what I'm going through is special_ _the more I delve deeper._ _Yes, have I not also just confirmed that my dreams are accurate? My dreams are special! I've completed the first step finely'._

The wizard's eyes fix to the stone women's face, meeting them in their unflinching and expressionless eyes.

' _Now comes the second step—the final step to prove my hypothesis: I must see for myself if my dream does lead me to a secret so little people knows—I must find and enter that damned secret cave myself! If I successfully find this cave_ _, then I'll know that I'm truly... gifted?_ _Yes, gifted._ _What other word could I use to describe the ability to know things without being there? I_ _could possibly be_ _clairvoyant_ _. And is it too far to believe that, after confirming the accuracy of my dreams so far, that its promise of a hidden cave is also accurate?'_

The wizard suddenly frowns. _'But I could still fail. I'm a clairvoyant_ _only if_ _I_ _did_ _successfully_ _find th_ _is_ _hidden cave. If not, then my dreams are mere dreams._ _And all of this a coincidence._

Without himself realizing, the wizard subconsciously wishes it's the former.

The wizard brings his attention to the stone floor under him. He lightly stomps on the floor, trying to feel beneath it. It doesn't feel any different from any other floor; it doesn't feel hollow or thin. It would be impossible to tell what's under it. But in his dreams, he remembered that they would be the ones that collapse, revealing a flight of stairs. This does not happen now—the third thing different from his dream. He's not surprised, though. He has to wait till the moon is right for this room to be the exact same as the one in his dreams. It's the night of the blue moon when he'll finally find a certain answer for this mystery.

' _I have to be brave',_ he tells himself. _'I must be brave in discovering this truth. I have to sneak out in the middle of the night, alone through the haunting hallways, past the night patrols, and through the lightless woods, and finally here. I have to be brave. It'll be worth it. Truly, if I am actually gifted… it'll be worth it. And I'm going to be so happy'._ The wizard brings his hand to his mouth, covering a wide, manic grin. _'God, I'm going to be so grateful'._ He's no idea what to do first after all this is done.

He knows he's getting ahead of himself, that he's being too imaginative and childish, but he honestly can't suppress this giddy excitement coursing through his veins when all the endless possibilities come into his head. He's so energetic, he suddenly feels like he can run miles without rest. It might be nervous energy. He can't tell.

He suddenly feels impatient. The night of the blue moon will be the night he'll finally know if he's a clairvoyant or not. It'll be the night where he'll know if he's part of a greater destiny.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: a bit late, because of things in life. In particular, I've been very busy moving from one place and into a new one half a continent away. It's a student exchange thingy, and the place I'm in is very cold and rainy. It's fun, but also very tiring. It's also 4 am and I haven't slept and I'm very tired.**


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